ST LOUIS – When the St. Louis Blues opened the second half of their season at home, they were coming off two dominating road victories against San Jose (7-2) and Arizona (6-0). With three weeks and six home games ahead of them, four against subpar opponents, it looked like the Blues might be able to use the time to gain two points in most games.
So far, it hasn’t been as easy as it first looked for St. Louis, despite gaining 7 points in the first four games they played at home. After weak victories against Carolina (5-4 SO) and Edmonton (4-2), St. Louis dropped a game it largely dominated against Detroit (4-3 OT). Saturday night, a hungry, but struggling Toronto team came to town, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Blues.
Incidentally, it was the third of the last four games where the Maple Leafs team was shutout. They scored just one goal during the four-game stretch, a 3-1 loss to San Jose. It might have been the best overall game for the Blues during their current home stand, but with seven turnovers in their own zone in the first period, it was only through Brian Elliott that they survived Toronto.
The defensive effort of goaltender Brian Elliott was the difference all game, and not just at the early stages. His play the first twenty minutes set the tone, stopping all 15 shots and keeping the Blues in the game. Then the workload lightened as he stopped all 4 shots in the second period and 8 in the final frame in registering his third shutout of the season and 19th of his Blues career.
With the St. Louis defense taking care of things in their own end, the offense continues to get enough to win. It is a hallmark of their play, tight in their own zone and offense just to get enough for the win. The three-game span of 20 goals in three games is about what they often get in a six-game stretch.
In the Toronto game, All-Star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk gave the Blues a 1-0 lead with his 8th of the season to go with 31 assists. His +17 is tops among St. Louis defenseman and second only to sniper Vladimir Tarasenko. Alex Steen netted the second Blues Goal, his 15th of the season to go with 23 assists. He has a goal in each of the last five games and seven in his last eight games. T.J. Oshie finished the scoring with his 12th of the season.
The power play will have to get better. St. Louis was 0 for 3 in the Toronto game, a continued slump putting the Blues man advantage at 1 for 11 and 9% conversion rate. Before this last four-game stretch, they were 38 for 144 and a 26.3% conversion rate. Collectively, St. Louis has five, double-digit, goal-scorers with David Backes (2nd with 16 goals) and Jaden Schwartz (4th with 15 goals). The hope is Jori Lehtera (9 goals), free-agent pick-up Paul Stastny (9 goals) and Patrik Berglund (6 goals) will contribute more.
The Blues face Colorado tonight, the last game before the All-Star break in Columbus. St. Louis plays Nashville in their first, post-All Star game at home on Thursday, January 29th. It will be the best test of the home stand as the Blues have struggled against the league’s best teams.
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