ST. LOUIS — For 40 minutes, the Blues appeared on the verge with the right response to an embarrassing consequence on dwelling ice Saturday night time.
Shedding the stink of an 8-1 loss — notably the third interval — towards the Washington Capitals was going to take some work, however an influence play that had been dormant, particularly on dwelling ice, discovered life. The Blues simply wanted some execution at 5-on-5 to finish a five-game homestand on a successful observe.
However that did not occur. As a matter of truth, it was one other third-period collapse. This one wasn’t effort-based, it was extra execution-based, and a two-goal lead become a stinging 3-2 defeat towards the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, sending the Blues (7-9-0) to their third straight loss.
Ouch.
This one most likely hurts greater than Saturday’s loss, as a result of the Blues knew there was no turning again from that lack of effort. This one confirmed extra of what’s lacking from the group as a complete: confidence. Proper now, none of it exists, and the style wherein this one ended, with David Pastrnak finishing the comeback blowing a one-timer from inside the highest of the left circle via Jordan Binnington, who deserved a greater destiny, was a bitter capsule to swallow.
Listed here are seven takeaways from the sport:
* Taking part in it secure — As an alternative of successful the sport, the Blues performed to not lose, or as within the phrases of Brayden Schenn, who shed the goal-scoring monkey off his again with a power-play objective, his first objective in 14 video games, the Blues tried taking part in secure.
“We simply performed the improper approach within the third,” Schenn stated. “We performed a bit bit secure and you’ll’t play secure on this league. There’s too many good gamers that really feel that, that sense that that may make performs. Guys are capable of put the puck within the internet and that is what occurred tonight.
“We knew we had a job to do. I do not learn about messaging and no matter, however we simply went out and we performed too secure.”
Taking part in secure and taking part in good are two various things.
“I believe we performed approach too secure as an alternative of exit and assault them,” stated Blues ahead Oskar Sundqvist, who additionally scored a power-play objective. “I form of thought we backed off an excessive amount of. Once you play on this league, there’s lots of good groups. Should you play it secure, they are going to stick it to you.”
The numbers backed the Blues. Boston (8-7-2) was 0-7-0 when trailing after two; the Blues have been 5-0-0 when main after two. The Bruins had been outscored 16-5 within the third interval this season.
However Boston went out and picked up 60 p.c of its season whole previous to Tuesday in 20 minutes towards the Blues.
“I assumed we backed off a bit bit,” Blues coach Drew Bannister stated. “We talked about it going into the third they have been down to 5 D and we needed to get our forecheck going and get lots of stress on their D and play extra on our toes. There have been instances we have been placing pucks deep and I assumed at instances we have been attempting to make performs. The performs may need been there, however I believe the higher play was simply put it to the objective line, make their D flip, return and get pucks and permit us to get again to the forecheck.
“Everytime you play secure, secure is useless. You continue to have to have the ability to play aggressive and you are going to must belief that when guys are being aggressive, that guys are nonetheless going to be over prime and permitting your D to get pucks. However whenever you do play secure, you are sitting again and also you’re permitting a crew to construct velocity. Once you’re aggressive, you are form of pushing them again on their heels and you’ll sluggish them down that approach.”
* Blues proceed to endure 5-on-5 — In getting outscored 3-0 at 5-on-5, the Blues are actually minus-13 in 5-on-5 conditions.
They generated simply 16 pictures at eve-strength for the sport and apart from a couple of attractiveness, ever actually threatened in that division.
“5-on-five simply typically, we’re not producing sufficient to tilt the ice,” Schenn stated. “I am not saying rating targets, simply to place them on their heels a bit bit. We have got to discover a approach. Particular was good tonight, they gave us an opportunity to win the hockey sport. Our goalie was good. We simply sat again within the third and give up making some performs. Not performs, simply passes on the tape. They got here at us, and we’re on our heels the entire third.”
Sundqvist stated, “I believe attempting to get extra pucks to the web, perhaps a bit bit higher on the lies. It begins with me too. I had a foul turnover within the third. I believe we performed fairly good the primary two intervals. We form of stopped taking part in the third. I am undecided why, however that is hockey typically.”
* Third intervals are troublesome — To finish this homestand, the Blues have been outscored 10-1 … on dwelling ice … within the third interval. A time when they need to be drawing vitality off its crowd, as an alternative, they arrive away with little to nothing.
“We simply stopped making performs, stopped placing pucks on the tape and allow them to come at us, performed in our finish the entire interval,” Schenn stated.
* Second, third battles missing — One thing that was occurring all through the sport, even when the Blues have been successful, was the Bruins developing with lose unfastened pucks, extra retrievals. It was evident on the tying objective and successful objective.
On Charlie McAvoy’s tying objective at 9:15, there is a unfastened puck on the skates of three Blues, and none of them may give you it. The Bruins put within the additional effort to execute and win it for the straightaway shot to make it 2-2.
And on Pastrnak’s game-winner at 18:13, the puck once more is within the Blues zone. It is unfastened after Pastrnak followers on his preliminary shot. All 5 Blues on the ice have an opportunity to bear down, win it and get it out of hazard, eve after it is harmful across the internet.
However the Bruins as soon as once more win the second and third efforts, one thing Bruins coach Jim Montgomery famous after the sport, and a objective scorer received a second probability and blew it via Binnington:
* Puck administration is a matter — We have addressed Jordan Kyrou’s puck gaffe’s late in video games which have value the Blues at the very least two factors, as much as maybe 4, in two separate video games. And it has been a consequence to of taking part in hero hockey as an alternative of good hockey, placing pucks deep within the zone and going to work.
It wasn’t Kyrou this time, however Colton Parayko.
It fueled the Bruins’ comeback when the defenseman, as an alternative of placing a puck in deep close to the blue line, tried to skate it previous Pastrnak, who began the 2-on-1 that led to Morgan Geekie’s objective at 4:53 to offer Boston life.
Parayko had not one, however two probabilities to place a puck in deep.
* Energy play breaths some life — On a constructive observe, the Blues entered the sport 0-for-20 on dwelling ice with the person benefit. It grew to 0-for-21 earlier than Schenn and Sundqvist every scored the greasy targets at or close to the web that noticed them a 2-0 lead within the second.
“We have been attacking extra, speaking extra about capturing the puck,” Sundqvist stated. “I believe we have been passing up too many alternatives. I believe it is attempting to shoot extra pucks and be good at recovering them.”
* Good bounce again for Binnington — After being in objective for Saturday’s slaughter, permitting all eight targets on 27 pictures, Binnington bounced again with a robust, stable effort. He appeared assured, made all the mandatory saves to offer his crew an opportunity till it did not.
“We performed arduous, performed for each other, battled arduous, we competed arduous after which we simply form of … particular groups was good and our goalie gave us an opportunity (particularly) early there within the second interval after they got here at us arduous there particularly on some energy performs and stuff like that,” Schenn stated. ‘”Binner’ was nice. That is a irritating one, positively to lose a hockey sport tonight.”