Goals: Upshall (7) and Pietrangelo (11)
Record 35-26-4
- After a 7 game losing streak and an embarrassing loss in Minnesota the night before by a score of 8-3, Coach Yeo called out some guys who he felt weren't putting forth enough effort. It was the first time this season he has done so publicly, but I believe it was something that was necessary to get some players' attention. He backed up that talk with some lineup changes. The most noteable of which was that Patrik Berglund was a healthy scratch for this one.
- There may have been more changes if he had the personnel to use. He used who he had and here's how the lines looked for this one.
- Upshall-Brodziak-Thorburn
- Steen-Barbashev-Tarasenko
- Schwartz-Schenn-Jaskin
- Soshnikov-Sobotka-Thompson
- Defensive pairings were:
- Pietrangelo-Bouwmeester
- Gunnarsson-Parayko
- Dunn-Schmaltz
- Hutton was in net
- Something the Blues have been doing too much of lately is taking early penalties, and this one started off the same way. Upshall was called for hooking at the 3:58 mark of the first.
- Detroit's power play ranks 22nd in the league. They put 2 shots on goal with the man advantage but couldn't put one in the net. Phew!
- I found myself taking more notes in this game of guys making plays that I attribute to grit and hustle more than I have in a long time. Early on Alexander Steen fought hard to get the puck. He finally controlled it behind the Detroit net and centered to a charging Soshnikov who got a shot on goal. It was just sheer determination from Steen on the play. He continued all night, and looked to me like he left it all on the ice.
- Soshnikov caused a penalty later in the period with his speed and aggressiveness. I LOVE the way this guy plays! I saw a tweet that summed it up about this guy:
Two things are abundantly clear about Nikita Soshnikov:— Jeff Jones (@jmjones)
1. Why fans in Toronto seemed to love him
2. Why he could never stay healthy
- The way he skates and crashes into things and people, I hope they can harness all of that energy and keep him healthy. He's a danger to others and himself in the way he goes at it. But, I love the energy. I've heard him interviewed twice now. He says the same things, "we need to go hard on the forecheck, go back and get nasty, play with some grit, score some goals, and do it every night. That's what I'm looking for here." How could you not like this guy? He reminds me a bit of the Hanson brothers!
- Nobody scored in the first period but the Blues didn't waste any time in the 2nd. Just 1 minute and 12 seconds in, Colton Parayko, who looked like he found another gear in this game, charged hard to the net with the puck. Skating in from the left wing, he cut back in front of the net and got the puck on net. Lots of bodies came along with him, including Jaskin who had a stab at the rebound, and then came Upshall who tucked it in under goalie Jimmy Howard.
- Howard played a good game. The 2 goals that the Blues scored could have been much more had he not played such a good game. Our hard work and net-front presence gave us lots of chances but he hung in there tough.
- The rest of the 2nd and most of the 3rd went without goals, but here were some random notes I took throughout that stretch:
- J-Bo fights off a guy trying to camp out in front of Hutton
- Parayko has found another gear, skating faster than I've ever seen
- Steen is working like a man on a mission! Possessed!
- We are putting pucks on net AND we've got bodies in front. Who is this team?
- We added another goal late in the 3rd. It was a result of nothing but grit and determination on the part of the guy who epitomizes those words, Jaden Schwartz. Schwartzy worked the puck into the offensive zone through a couple of defenders and poked it behind the net. Then he chased after it and fought until he got control of it back there. His centering pass was perfect and Pietrangelo 'one-timed' it for his 11th goal of the season.
- With just under 4 minutes to go, Detroit pulled Howard and with just over a minute remaining Bertuzzi's shot got past Hutton over his glove side and hit the crossbar. The rebound came out to Athanasiou who put his shot in the exact same spot, but his shot was crossbar and down.
- Hutton didn't get the shutout, but the Blues held on for a 2-1 win. The win ties them in points for the last wild card spot with just 17 games to play.
#AllTogetherNowStL #LGB
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