Goal: Schwartz (15)
Record 31-19-3
- I feel like the policeman doing crowd control, because about all I can think to say about this game is, "Move along folks. There's nothing to see here."
- For the second game in a row, I didn't think the Blues looked all that sharp. Passes weren't crisp and accurate. We couldn't get to our game at all. Although we outshot Boston in the first period 14-9 it just seemed like we had a hard time getting any sustained offensive pressure.
- Give Boston credit. They're a hot team. Coming into the game they were 14-4-1 in their last 19 games, including an 18 game unbeaten streak prior to dropping their last one at home against Anaheim.
- For the Blues, it was Jake Allen back in net for the first time in quite a while. He played a great game, in my opinion. The team gave up 45 shots on goal. He stopped 43 of them. For those out there who need a little help with their math, that's a .956 save percentage. Last I checked, that was pretty darned good.
- The Bruins scored a very controversial goal at 12:32 of the first period. The play started with a shot that Allen blocked with his pads that went straight up into the air. Jake lost site of the puck and didn't know where it was. It landed to his left so he shifted that direction on his knees. The Bruins crashed the net and two of them slid across the crease taking Jake with them. He wound up totally out of the blue paint because of the contact. Everyone started swatting at the puck. It looked like Pietrangelo was going to clear it, but he couldn't. Then it looked like Edmondson would clear it. He didn't. Boston center, David Krejci finally put it in the net on a play that seemed to last forever.
- St. Louis challenged the goal on the grounds of goalie interference. It looked to me in real time that it was definitely interference. Then when I saw the replays and different angles, I was even more convinced. I, along with the Blues announcers, was totally surprised when the officials ruled it to be a good goal. Their explanation was that Jake couldn't have gotten back and made that save anyway. Well, excuse my language, but no shit! Why couldn't he get back? Because he was totally taken out of position by the two Bruins. Unbelievable!
- I said before that the play started with a shot on goal. It actually started before that when the Blues failed to clear the puck and turned it over in their own end. One of our 14 giveaways on the night. I don't know if it was sloppy play by the Blues, or all the defensive pressure put on by the Bruins, or both. Boston definitely was quick to close in on the puck all night. They didn't give us any space.
- Back to the goal and the question of interference, the Boston announcers said "And you gotta like the body language of Jake Allen. He wasn't complaining that he wasn't allowed to do his job because there were bodies everywhere because the puck was in the crease." Last time I checked it didn't matter if the puck was in the crease or in the rafters, its not ok to run into a goalie and take him totally out of the play.
- John Kelly, Darren Pang and Bernie Federko were saying that Jake should have complained more and might have gotten the call if he had. So, I guess it's now up to the players to be cry babies in order for the rules to be enforced.
- Regardless of the goal, the Blues needed to get to their game somehow. They never really managed to do that. The Bruins outshot us 22-6 in the second. No goals were scored but it sure did seem like we were on our heels the ENTIRE period.
- Boston scored quickly on their first and only power play of the night. Tarasenko was called for hooking at 8:35 of the third and the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron one-timed a pass over the right shoulder of Allen 30 seconds later. Bergeron was right in the middle of the 4 Blues playing defense. Nobody touched him. He just stood there, received the pass and shot it. Somebody's gotta get to that guy and it just seemed like the effort wasn't there.
- Schwartz scored a nice goal on a tic-tac-toe play from Tarasenko at the point, to Schenn in the high slot, to Jaden down next to the goal. It was his first goal since returning from his ankle injury and his 15th on the season.
- Backes added an empty net goal for the final score of 3-1.
- Many of the players' dads are along on this trip. It's their annual road trip where they take the dads along, which is a pretty cool thing. After all the dads do for their kids to help them reach the NHL, and then to get to be a part of that for a couple of games must be really fun for them. The Blues were 4-0 in the previous two years on these trips.
- The Blues travel to Buffalo for a Saturday night game before returning home and taking on Minnesota and Colorado at home and then a back-to-back game the next night in Winnipeg. It doesn't get any easier. Every point is important. Dallas is 3 points behind us for a playoff spot.
#AllTogetherNowStL #LGB
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