Blues remain hot and cold for the week

ST LOUIS, Missouri – The St. Louis Blues finished the week appearing much as they have throughout the season.  The Blues lost one in regulation, lost another by way of an overtime shoot out, and won two in dominating fashion.  The Blues have been a hot and cold team all season long and this week is the perfect example of this.  On some weeks the Blues have won one, and lost three, two of which may come in overtime, and on other weeks the Blues have won two and lost two in regulation.  St. Louis appears to be a slight enigma at first glance, but it should be reminded that this young team is still learning to play together and it is the youth of this team that is carrying it to success.
 The Bruins did not record more than 23 shots on goal throughout the game.  Not once did Boston even shoot in double digit numbers in a single period.  Yet in the end they managed to accumulate four goals making the most of the efforts.  Patrice Bergeron led the assault for the Bruins with four assists being the only Bruin to account for multiple points.
The Blues rolled into Dallas Wednesday evening for another overtime game.  With the recent abundance of overtime play, one must wonder if the Blues are being paid as hourly employees.  David Backes and T.J. Oshie would lead the way for the Blues scoring two points apiece.  The Blues recent power play drought came to an end in the first period when Erik Johnson would score at the 9:00 mark.  The win places the Blues back at the steady .500 point for the season and retains their place at number 14 in the Western Conference.
The Blues traveled to face sixth place Nashville Friday night looking for success.  The Blues played one of their finest games of the season allowing one goal on 38 shots, and scoring three times on their own.  St. Louis was led by T.J. Oshie’s two points on the offensive side of the ice, complimenting Chris Mason’s lights out defense. 
After a successful mini-road trip to Tennessee, the Blues would return home Saturday evening to face hated Detroit.  The Blues have had an up and down season since their two game sweep of Detroit in Sweden to open the campaign.  While the Wings would slip into overtime and steal the win from St. Louis in the shoot out, it was David Perron’s night to shine.  The finesseful youngster assisted his teammates twice to lead all scorers on the evening.  In what may be one of the larger surprises of the week; the Blues and Red Wings combined for three penalties and six minutes – throughout the entire game!  Typically these numbers lend themselves to one infraction when these two teams lock up for a back yard brawl.
Schedule Results of the Past Week:
November 23, 2009 (8-9-4) Boston 4, Blues 2
Scoring – 1^st Period 11:00 BOS PPG – Mark Recchi (4) – Assists: P. Bergeron (8) & D. Krejci (8) 12:31 STL Keith Tkachuk (5) Assists: C. Colaiacovo (6) & E. Johnson (13) 2^nd Period 03:02 BOS PPG – Blake Wheeler (6) – Assists: P. Bergeron (9) & D. Wideman (6) 07:37 STL Carlo Colaiacovo (2) – Assists: B. Boyes (8) & A. Steen (1) 12:10 BOS Milan Lucic (2) Assists: Z. Chara (12) & P. Bergeron (10)
3^rd Period 11:14 BOS SHG – Marco Sturm (6) – Assists: P. Bergeron (11)
Goalies StL – Chris Mason (L, 19/23) BOS – T. Rask (W, 29/31)
November 25, 2009 (9-9-4) Blues 4, Dallas 3 (OT) Scoring – 1^st Period 05:37 DAL PPG – Stephane Robidas (6) – Assists: B. Richards (22) & M. Modano (3) 09:00 STL PPG – Erik Johnson (3) – Assists: B. Boyes (9) & D. Perron (5) 10:43 DAL Toby Petersen (3) – Assists: T. Wandell (6) & K. Barch (2) 12:02 STL David Backes (2) – Assists: R. Polak (4) & T. Oshie (6)
2^nd Period (none)
3^rd Period 11:00 STL T.J. Oshie (4) – Assists: D. Backes (4) 19:34 DAL Brenden Morrow (8) Assists: M. Modano (4) & B. Richards (23)
Overtime (none)
Shootout St. Louis wins 2-1
Goalies StL – Ty Conklin (W, 34/37) DAL – Marty Turco (L, 35/38)
November 27, 2009 Blues 3, Nashville 1
Scoring – 1^st Period (none)
2^nd Period 18:35 STL Brad Boyes (5) – Assists: E. Johnson (14) & C. Colaiacovo (7) 3rd Period 06:23 STL David Backes (3) – Assists: T. Oshie (7) & M. Weaver (1) 13:25 NSH Dave Scatchard (1) – Assists: J. Tootoo (4) & D. Legwand (9) 15:23 STL Paul Kariya (5) – Assists: T. Oshie (8)
Goalies StL – Chris Mason (W, 37/38) NSH – Pekka Rinne (L, 35/38)
November 28, 2009
Detroit 4, Blues 3
Scoring – 1^st Period
13:24 STL David Backes (4) – Assists: D. Perron (6) & D. Sydor (4)
17:22 STL Roman Polak (2) – Assists: D. Backes (5) & P. Kariya (5)
2nd Period
02:35 DET PPG – Tomas Holmstrom (10) – Assists: H. Zetterberg (16) & P. Datsyuk (13)
 
3rd Period
02:27 DET Kris Draper (4) – Assists: P. Eaves (5) & D. Helm (4)
08:32 STL Brad Boyes (6) – Assists: D. Perron (7) & A. McDonald (8)
19:03 DET Henrik Zetterberg (10) Assists: T. Bertuzzi (7) & T. Holmstrom (4)
 
Shoot Out – Detroit wins 2-1
 
Goalies
StL – Chris Mason (L, 33/36)
DET – Jimmy Howard (W, 32/35)
 
Upcoming Weeks Schedule:
 
November 30, 2009 at Columbus
Team News: Jonas Junland will join the Blues on Monday evening in Columbus, Ohio for a game against the Blue Jackets.  The 2006 third round selection has had solid success in Peoria heading into this season and was one of the last players cut from the team prior to the end of training camp.  With Colaiacovo showing some injury fatigue, now seems as good of a time as any to allow some future players to gain a little experience. 
Blues Clues: St. Louis enters play this evening against Columbus one game above .500.  The Blues have allowed a mere 62 goals this season, good enough for second place in the Western Conference.  But for this team to be successful down the stretch, the St. Louis Blues will need to improve somewhat significantly on their league worse 60 goals scored.
Quote of the Week: Alex Steen on his upcoming early return from the St. Louis Post Dispatch – “I feel like I’m in great shape. The legs feel great. I’m ready to go.”  
You may contact the author at:  John.Strathman@prohockeynews.com