Let 'em Play!

The Blues lost Saturday night to the rival Blackhawks 5-2. Too many penalties, turnovers, and poor special teams led to their demise.

The game was forced into a special teams showdown after some

poor calls by a young officiating crew.

Nearly half-way through the second Patrick Berglund's stick was whacked out of his hand by Merian Hossa, who then proceeded to check Berglund, who did not have possession of the puck. Berglund went to the box, Sharp scored on the ensuing power-play making it a 3-2 game.

Hawks' captain Jonathan Toews got off scott-free after waiting for teammate Dan Carcillo to

come in and tackle Blues Captain David Backes before he began thrashing him with punches.

best penalty killer remained on the ice, literally, to kill the penalty. Carcillo and Backes went to the box. The Blues did come out with a power-play, but the Hawks

As Tony Twist put in the post-game: "Toews went for ice cream, realized he didn't have the

money and waited for one of his friends to pay for it." Well put from a guy who knows about fisticuffs.

At the end of the second, Backes faced-off against Dustin Bolland. The two got into a shoving match and were put in the box. Well played by Joel Quineville, the Hawks would defiantly take that gift, freeing Toews who was being frustrated by Backes all night. Backes should have known better, but the refs should have known better than to call penalties.

In the end, it was the Blues' powerless-play and the Hawks ability to score on the power-play and penalty kill that made the difference.

The Blues' special teams play has got to get better of them to become a true contender. They have another tough test coming this Tuesday against Detroit.

On a positive note, David Perron did make his much anticipated return and scored the first goal of the game. He took a hit after scoring and seemed fine. His level of play was quite high for someone who has missed 13 months. His adrenaline was running high so the next few games may be more telling. This much is sure: Perron will be a difference maker for the Blues this season.