St Louis Blues Beat Wild in Shootout: Game Recap
98. 3. 99. Final. 2(so)
Despite Dominating the first 35 minutes of play, the St Louis Blues scored a late goal to tie the game. Red hot Vladimir Tarasenko was the only player to score in the shootout as the Wild fell to the Blues 3-2 in the skills competition.
Welcome to a new-look game recap, fans. Think of this whole thing as Trembley’s Take. Rather than subject you to a novella of play-by play, let’s hit the highlights.
First Period:
Zach Parise was an absolute machine tonight, nearly converting after stealing the puck from Jori Lehtera in the first minute. He put three shots on goal in a matter of 3 seconds.
I thought the defense was sound, holding the Blues out of the zone for long stretches.
Marco Scandella played a fantastic game tonight, although he took an early penalty for an illegal check to the head of T.J. Oshie. I imagine that play automatically gets reviewed by the Department of Player Safety. The Wild penalty kill again looked good, this time against the 3rd ranked road power play in the NHL.
Although Colorado Avalanche fans have an unfounded hatred of the Wild, the Wild and Blues play like 50-year foes. The physicality is unmatched by any other match-up in the league. Ryan Reaves was an absolute wrecking ball in the first frame.
Lehtera sent the Wild to the first power play of the night after some Finn-on-Finn roughing of Erik Haula. The power play was absolutely miserable for the Wild on their first try, managing one meager shot on goal.
Regardless of the power play, I feel like the Wild made huge strides in their dominance of the first period, though they couldn’t quite figure out Jake Allen.
Shots after one period: St Louis Blues 7, Minnesota Wild 10
Second Period:
The Wild opened the period with an absolutely incredible shift by the Parise –Mikael Granlund – Jason Pominville line. It ended with roars from the crowd and a Wild power play. I can’t really put in to words how great this shift was, but I counted about 10 shots towards the net in under a minute.
Barret Jackman’s cross-checking penalty on Mikael Granlund sent the Wild back to a power play about four minutes in, although this one looked better, the Wild still couldn’t convert.
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Vladimir Tarasenko, who’s absolutely red hot this season, grew tired of the scorless tie and took it upon himself to end it mid way through the game. Tarasenko stole the puck from Mikko Koivu at the point and zipped around all 5 green Wild sweaters before putting the puck behind a sprawling Niklas Backstrom. 1-0 Blues at 10:20 of the second period. No assists on the play, although it seems that Tarasenko has no problems scoring all by himself.
Koivu snagged his 3rd of the year to tie the game a few minutes later. Koivu took a feed from Jason Zucker who won several board battles to set up the play. Koivu potted home his signature backhand to make it a 1-1 tie at 14:26 of the second period.
Tensions boiled a minute lated as Kevin Shattenkirk put a nasty hit from behind on Ryan Carter. Carter left the game but returned in the third. For his actions, Shattenkirk took a 5 minute major for checking from behind and a game misconduct.
The Wild power play scored before the end of the second period. If i hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it either, but they scored.
put an odd shot from the face-off circle past the left arm of Allen. On the replay, you can see Allen’s sweater flapping from the shot. I think
may have tipped it, but it was a beautiful goal either way.
2-1 Wild at 19:01 of the second period.
Shots after two periods: St Louis Blues: 13, Minnesota Wild 27
3rd Period:
Just after Shattenkirk’s 5-minute penalty expired, Granlund took an odd hooking penalty. Although the Blues didn’t convert, it seemed to take the Wind right out of the Wild’s sails.
The Blues dominated the chances late, and Minnesota native David Backes tied the game at 14:27. Thanks to a play set up by T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund, Backes walked in to the zone and roofed a wrist shot over the glove of Backstrom. 2-2 tie at 14:27 of the third period.
There were a lot of late scrums between the two teams. The Wild looked frustrated. I don’t blame them.
Shots through regulation: St. Louis Blues 22, Minnesota Wild 38
Overtime and shootout:
The biggest takeaway from overtime is this: NO shots on goal for the Wild. Zip, Zilch, Nada. The Wild need to work on their 4-on-4 play, I don’t make a secret of that.
Koivu, Parise, and Pominville were all stopped in the shootout. None of them had very impressive moves.
Valdimir Tarasenko opened Backstrom up like a can to end the game. Blues Win 3-2 in the shootout
Trembley’s Take:
It was crucial for the Wild to take a point away from this game and they did just that to stay alive in the Western Conference. The Wild almost never beat the Blues, recording just one win in their last 10 games against the St. Louis squad.
Both teams have played 130 minutes of hockey in the last two nights. Tarasenko scored the game winning goal in both outings.
Parise’s power play goal was also his 250th career NHL goal. Congratulations, Zach.
Niklas Backstrom played really well for the Wild, which is refreshing given our goalie struggles.
The Wild outshot the Blues nearly two-to-one in regulation, so I’m surprised they didn’t come away with a win, but that’s why we love the NHL right? Unpredictability is cool.
Shattenkirk will undoubtedly hear from the NHL about his hit, stay tuned for more on that.
The Wild move to 13-9-1, one point behind the Jets for 4th place in the division. The Blues move to 16-6-2 and are in second place in the division.
The Wild are off until Wednesday, which means I get a break, too. Talk to you soon, Wild fans.