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By ANDREW ALLSMAN
ALHAMBRA, IL-- The Blues' home opener was spoiled by Nashville in a 4-2 loss. I for one am disappointed, but the fact remains that this was the 1st game of the season, and I am convinced that this is not how the season in going to go. The Blues did not look prepared tonight, and did not play well as a team which is something that I expect they will improve on by next game.
The Good
Not to sound like a pessimist, but there were not too many things that I was impressed with tonight, but there were a couple of things I noticed that I really liked.
Oshie/Berglund/Stewart- This line was dominant tonight as expected and when they were on the ice the puck was almost always in the Predator's zone and this line was always applying pressure. Stewart didn't impress me tonight, but its only the 1st game and he will no doubt get his chances to shine
Crashed the net- One thing I absolutely loved about the Blues play tonight, was that there was always someone in front of the net looking to "jam the puck home". The problem was, that they seldom got the puck to the front of the net and when they did, an opportunity was missed. Nevertheless, this is a trait that the Blues must possess when they have players like Stewart, and Backes who make a living in front of the net, and while they didn't get the job done tonight, look for them to wreak havoc on goalies in the future.
The Bad
Halak- Lets get the obvious one out of the way as we all know that Halak underperformed in this game. Halak let in 2 really bad goals tonight, but I refuse to believe this is going to be his style of play this season. Lets not forget that Halak made some good saves tonight too. Halak was out of position several times, and failed to make a save late in the game that drained the momentum of a goal scored by Arnott 10 seconds previous. I know I've said this a lot, but it is only the 1st game, and I am not going to judge Halak by his 1st performance of the year, but Halak needs to step up his game in order for this team to be successful
Defense/PK- The Blues' defense was something that really made me wonder what the coaches are doing during practice. The defense was not nearly aggressive enough, and therefore the points were wide open, players were allowed to skate right to the net, and the Predators skated right around our defense. Goalies can only do so much in a game, and when you allow guys clear shots at the net, your not helping your goalie. Note that I'm not giving Halak any excuses, but the defense did not help him out much. The Blues penalty was pitiful, giving up 2 goals and for some reason the Blues found the need to collapse to the middle of the ice instead of challenging the point-men and therefore giving the Predators a chance to fire pucks on net. Again, I'm not sure what is going on with the Defense, but it needs to be fixed. Also to cram another issue into this topic, the Blues took way too many stupid penalties....They have to be more disciplined.
Not enough quality shots- The Blues out shot the Predator's 33-16, but I didn't see a whole lot of quality shots. I define a quality shot as one that has a chance of going in or producing a rebound. The Blues have to have more discipline when shooting the puck, and have to get more shots on net so they at least have a chance at scoring. This also includes the fact that they need to get shots through from the points. Tonight I saw a lot of pucks whiz high, or wide of the goal and that honestly doesn't give you much of a chance to score, and definitely doesn't make the goalie work.
Conclusion
Yes the Blues loss tonight was heartbreaking to many fans (including me) who couldn't wait for the season to get started, but believe me when I say this is not what the season is going to be like. The Blues were no doubt unprepared tonight, Halak wasn't sharp, and the Blues weren't disciplined enough. Two of these three can be easily fixed, and the other one hopefully doesn't need fixing, and was just a fluke (I think you know which one I'm talking about). The Blues showed tonight that they can apply pressure, win battles and wreak havoc in front of the net, but in order for them to be successful, they need to fix the problems listed above and simply work better as a team. I'm disappointed in the loss, but I'm not overly concerned with this team, because I see the talent they have, and they showed last year they can win.
So what should you take away from the first game?
Very little. Give Halak a few more games before you judge him, and remember this game was only the first game and most of the problems are minor and easily improved upon. The Blues don't worry me right now because I see them improving their game very quickly.
Email me at drewallsman@yahoo.com