Blues Lose Pietrangelo in Game 1 Loss
There’s Nestle Quick, DJ Quick, Brian Quick, and then there’s Jonathan Quick.
Is there a better name for a goaltender? Jonathan Quick didn’t waste any time in letting the Blues know what they have in store over the next two weeks. He made two game winning saves in the opening minute to rob Andy McDonald.
People focus on the third period for timely saves, this was about as timely as it gets and it happened almost immediately after the drop of the puck. The first thing you notice with this guy is his incredible leg strength, he pushes off as well as any goalie in the league and lived up to his name in the series opener between the Blues and the Kings.
The Blues felt good about their first period initiating what was a pretty entertaining 20 minutes. David Backes deflected an Alex Pietrangelo shot to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.
Los Angeles would even things up late in the period as Slava Voynov snuck in from the right point to slam home a nice Dustin Penner feed. The puck jumped on Barret Jackman who turned the puck over before Penner had plenty of time to identify the back door. People will blame Jackman on the play but Any McDonald knows he’s got to stay with Voynov. When the Blues coaching staff goes over the video I can guarantee you they’ll focus on Voynov escaping free to the net and not the Jackman turnover.
McDonald, who a pretty responsible player defensively, tells me he actually got a stick on the Voynov shot.
Costly Mistakes….
The Kings played like the more desperate team in Game 1. The Blues got away from what makes them successful in trying to make east west plays in the neutral zone, trying to beat guys one on one, and the result was turnover city. It will be a short series if this is the way they want to play.
For the Blues to be successful the puck has to go north.
King Hit on Petro…
I’m having a difficult time with this one. Pietrangelo was standing right around the goal line when contact was made. It’s not like he was a foot away from the boards. He was hit as he was lunging forward to retrieve the puck along the wall. It was more of a push than a drive from King on Pietrangelo. His momentum combined with a shove drove the Blues star D-man into the wall face first. I don’t know what else to say other than I’ve seen worse.
If he stayed on the ice for a lengthy period of time the Blues would have received a 5 minute power play. It really isn’t Pietrangelo’s style to embellish and he popped right back up, bloody chin and all. He would play momentarily on the ensuing power play before his night came to an end. Could it have warranted a double minor? Perhaps.
What Can Brown Do For You…
Dustin Brown would create a third Los Angeles shorthanded goal of the playoffs to give the Kings 2-1 lead. Kevin Shattenkirk was in a tough spot trying not to take a penalty with the Blues just beginning a PP. Whether or not Pietrangelo was foggy at the time remains to be seen but he’s got to move over and help Shattenkirk. Brown doesn’t get a shot on goal if Pietrangelo slides over and helps.
Former North Dakota Captain Matt Greene beat David Backes up the ice to give the Kings the lead.
Penalties…
The Blues got careless in the third period taking eight minutes in penalties. Two stick infractions led to three power play’s for the Kings including a four minute double minor on T.J. Oshie. Credit the Blues PK for getting the job done.
Missed Chances…
The Blues had plenty of chances including Scott Nichol who missed a wide open net in the second period. Perron lost control of the puck which was sitting there with Quick out of position. Nichol tried to place it perfectly under the bar and shot high.
B.J. Crombeen also had a high percentage chance but couldn’t lift a backhand over the right pad of Quick.
I found it interesting the Blues fourth line of Nichol, Langenbrunner, and Crombeen were on the ice in the final minutes down by a goal. This line is playing more like a third line than a fourth line. All three players saw more ice time than Chris Stewart.
The Blues might want to find a way to get Vladimir Sobotka more ice time. He does something every time he touches the ice.
The game saw 58 shots, 50 hits, with the Blues winning 56% of their face offs. Nichol was 80% winning eight of ten.
I’ll have more later.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
Strickland.andy@gmail.com
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Is it coincidental that Stephon Walkon is the same NHL ref who didn't make the right call on the King hit and also didn't see anything wrong with the Raffi Torres cheap shot hit on Marion Hossa which knocked him out of the Hawks-Coyotes series. It was a hit that the NHL later levied a 25-game suspension for any of three penalties--charging, interference, hit to the head. As a reward for his performance in that game, he refereed game 7 of the Bruins-Caps series and is now doing semi-final games. Is there something wrong with this picture?
So in the world of worse doesn't make it right one way or the other. Maybe it was an accident. People kill people accidental, sometimes b/c they drink and drive. It wasn't their intention. But they did do something wrong and it led to something even more wrong than they thought. Oshie had an accidental collision with what's his name both of their sticks can up to the head the other guy was bleeding. No call on the play until a linesman blew the whistle. He was bleeding. The rule about penalties as far as hits go if there is blood it is an automatic 4 minutes and could be called a five minute major which ever the official decides. It doesn't say you can only make a two minute call on it. But the rules suddenly become flexible in this league often when it suits the score or the ratings. Recall Hossa's magic goal last season.
When pundits are saying stop calling the score and call the penalties what does that mean? Where does it come from?
I mean the ref is right there and sees Petro's head go into the boards. He thinks two minutes is the correct approach? A piece of crap player who can hardly skate made that mistake b/c he is NOT NHL worthy just like his brother. He's big wow big deal. I wouldn't have him on my beer league team he's that terrible. But he pushes the Blues best defensemen with his back to him, maybe b/c he possibly couldn't keep his balance skating forward.
It's a joke. The NHL calls itself a sport. Have they forget what the word means? flag this comment
It wasn't his fault we lost the game being as he scored the first goal. It was once again the tendency of this team to miss the net when it is virtually empty.
Andy I can use the sports casters words to make a point as well but they are merely spinning a web of a story the way they would like. They have been selling incorrectly that LA is somehow superior to the Blues. FOr instance the pregame they said the Blues were 22nd in goals scored during the regular season and suggested after the trade the Kings were somehow a scoring machine.
Well numbers don't lie. It's a crock. They averaged about 2.21 goals per game while St. Louis averaged about 2.51 goals a game. The Blues averaged less than two goals against the Kings slightly above 2. So basically every third game the Blues scored one more goals than the Kings. Check it the less than .500 Kings averaged a score of 2-2 while the Blues averaged a score of 3-2.
During the play offs the story is similar. flag this comment
There's a level of maturity that still has to be learned for these guys to stick to the team game plan in close games. One of the many hurdles that have to be overcome in tight playoff matches that no amount of regular season experience can teach. flag this comment
he is not terrible but looking more and more like he would be on a 3rd line with any other team. maybe its the long layoff he had with the concussion and maybe he is tired but he is lacking the drive that i have seen him play with before.
we lost the game because we only truly played 1 period. after petro was injured we never came back into the game. bad mistake by shatty pinching in trying to get the puck and petro was in a world of his own at that point.
that 1 mistake cost us the game. and we never fought back. bad penalties in the 3rd.
completely unimpressed with the kings. quick is the only reason they are here. we should win this series as we are the better team
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