The Blues become the first team in the NHL to clinch a playoff spot with their 100th point on the season.
With a 3-1 win at Tampa Bay Saturday night the Blues reached 100 points, and more importantly, clinched a playoff berth. They became the first team to reach those two milestones in the NHL. The New York Rangers are the next closest team with 95 points.
The game-winning goal came from Jaden Schwartz in his first NHL game. He became the 13th player in franchise history to score in his debut.
Schwartz got acclimated to the "loose Blues" in the warm up skate when the team had him lead them onto the ice, but they all stopped at the bench. Schwartz proceeded to the ice and did two laps alone while the rest of the guys got a good laugh from the tunnel.
Berglund opened the scoring with a short-handed goal in the first made possible by a fantastic set-up from Alex Pietrangelo. Perron added the third goal on a partial break. Halak made 22 saves.
Andy McDonald did not play and is "week to week" as Hitchcock puts it. David Backes left the game early with a foot injury, not great news.
Even with all the injuries, the Blues continue to win. They are surging and doing it on the road. All this is a great testament to the system that Hitchcock has sold to the team.
With Tuesday's convincing win against Chicago the Blues show they're Presidential contenders.
The Blues came back from a productive road trip to Scottrade on Tuesday. They beat the rival Blackhawks 5-1, outplaying them for 60 minutes. They are used to dominating teams on home ice, but the recent trip, where their record was 5-1, was very successful for several reasons: The Blues nabbed 10 of 12 points, they took over first place in the Central from the Red Wings, and they proved they can win on the road.
The Blues' special teams are also improving. On the trip they shut down the top four power plays: Edmonton, Nashville, Vancouver, and San Jose. On the other end, the Note's power play went 5-for-16.
The Blues are improving in most their trouble areas from earlier in the season, including getting plenty of offensive boost from the return of Andy McDonald.
They are running on all cylinders and there is no reason why they can not make a run at the President's Trophy. The hardware doesn't mean much, hopefully their minds are on a different piece of hardware, but the home ice advantage throughout the playoffs will mean a lot.
"It's hard not to look at the standings and see where we are," McDonald said. "It's exciting. we realize there is a lot of hard work left. More importantly, we have to make sure we're getting our game to a spot where we're ready for the playoffs and improving, not kind of coasting into the playoffs. We want to be playing at the top of our game."
If they continue playing at this pace, they may cruise into the playoffs atop the NHL.
It is amazing to think that Al MacInnis produced more for a team than he did for the St. Louis Blues. But that may be the case for his time spent as a Calgary Flame.
MacInnis was inducted to the "Forever a Flame" program in Calgary Monday night. A banner with his picture and number 2 will forever hang above the rink where he started his career. He is the first to receive this great distinction.
MacInnis' Hall of Fame career spanned 23 seasons, 13 with Calgary and 10 with St. Louis. As a Flame he played 803 games, scored 213 goals, and amassed 609 assists which adds up to 1,274 points. He was an all-star eight times in Calgary. But his most lasting accomplishment came in the Flames 1989 run to the Stanley Cup, when the man they call "Chopper" lead the playoffs in scoring with 31 points, and captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. It marked the first time that a defenseman lead the NHL postseason in scoring. MacInnis considers winning the Cup in Calgary his "greatest hockey accomplishment in the NHL."
MacInnis was traded to St. Louis in the summer of 1994. In 613 games with the Blues he had 127 goals and 325 assists for 452 points. In 1999 he won his first and only Norris Trophy as the leagues best defenseman. He also won an Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2002. He announced his retirement in 2005 and took a job in the Blues front office as the vice president of hockey operations. His number 2 is retired and will forever hang in the rafters in St. Louis.
In his career he played in 1,406 games, scored 340 goals, and added 934 assists. He was elected into the hockey hall of fame in 2007.
John Kelly said, "in the history of the NHL he's got to be on the short list of all-time greatest defenseman." Joel Quenneville used to brag that MacInnis was one of the top five players to ever lace up the skates.
Growing up in St. Louis as a young defenseman in the 90's, I idolized Al MacInnis. I practiced my slap shot everyday to mimic Chopper. I took more pride in the way I handled the puck on the blue line after watching him. In school, I wrote a biography in English class detailing his wife. I clipped newspaper articles and have them to this day. I always looked back at his time spent in Calgary with jealousy, seeing pictures of him raising the cup. Although he was unable to lift the cup as a player, it would appear he can do it as a member of the Blues' front office.
It was a fantastic ceremony, and Calgary deserves to be proud. Do yourself a favor and watch it:
The Blues beat the Flames 3-1 in the game that followed. Jason Arnott scored 2 goals. It was their third straight road win:
Halak shines in shutout as the Blues show little let down after the longest all-star break in the NHL.
The Blues looked like the same great defensive team that went into the break as they beat Los Angeles 1-0 Friday night. Jamie Langenbrunner scored the lone goal on a great feed from Matt D'Agostini.
That was all the Blues would need as Jaroslav Halak stopped all 22 shots he faced. It was his fifth shutout of the season. Both he and Elliot have five on the season, giving the team ten, tops in the NHL.
That marks the first time that the Blues have had two goalies with at least ten shutouts since Jaques Plante and Glenn Hall did it in 1968-69. They made it to the Stanley Cup Finals that season.
The Blues were weary that the long layoff would cause them to come out a bit rusty, but after firing 12 shots and racking up 15 hits in the first, all worry was gone.
"We started out pretty good actually, but I don't know how that was because I felt terrible," said Matt D'Agostini. "I couldn't skate."
Dags looked good in the second. On a great individual effort, he chipped a puck by a King defender and set up Langenbrunner for the lone score .
The Blues are almost buffaloed, but with the help of David Backes' four points they put away the Sabers.
The Blues did not look like the same defensive team that had won two games in a row by a score of 1-0 early on in a game that coach Hitchcock described as a "horse race." The game was wide-open in the first period, with both teams exchanging odd-man breaks. The score was 1-0 Buffalo after one.
David Backes went crashing into the boards awkwardly in that first period. He went to the dressing room and most watching doubted a return. Lucky for the Blues he did return, having a point on the Blues' four goals, lifting them to a 4-2 win. Backes won the new "hard-hat award," the Blues call "the weenie of the game."
"We've been doing it for maybe six, seven, eight games here...I'm going to relish this for the rest of the night."
Well put by the articulate captain. Hitchcock had some words of his own to say about the captain:
"We had a lot of good players today, led by our captain," Hitchchock said. "I thought our captain and that line (Perron-Backes-Oshie) really led us. David came back just like a bear and really went to work there. He was a major reason we won the hockey game today."
It is still an anomaly to most how Backes did not make the all-star team. Another all-star snub, Alex Pietrangelo extended his point streak to nine games with an assist.
Halak got the start in net and set a career-best for consecutive shutout minutes (164:38). The first goal was fairly a weak one, but he bounced back and made some saves when he had to. I still believe Halak has some work to do, weak goals can not fly in the playoffs.
The Blues improved to 8-0-1 in 2012, and improved to 64 points, just one point behind Detroit for the Central Division/Western Conference lead. The Central continues to be the most competitive division in hockey, with four teams in the top five in points in the conference.
Lucky for fans, the Blues are in that mix this season.
The Blues play "the way hockey was meant to be played," and for the second game in a row shutout an opponent and score late to win.
In dramatic fashion, the Blues got a late goal from Alex Pietrangelo to beat the Oilers 1-0 Thursday. He scored with just 5:14 remaining on a great wrap-around to finally beat Oiler goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. The Blues had the first 18 shots on goal and out shot Edmonton 38-15.
Facing those 15 shots was Jaro Halak, whose second shutout in a row improved his record to 10-0-3 in his last 13 games.
The Blues' record has improved to a league-best 20-3-3 at home and gives them 62 points, the second most in the Conference behind Detroit (63). The Central Division contains the Western Conference's three best teams (DET, STL, CHI).
The Scotty is becoming a nightmare for opponents and now they are starting to take notice:
"They came out with tremendous pressure and intensity, Edmonton Defensman Andy Sutton said. "That's the way hockey was meant to be played."
The Blues moved into a tie for first in the NHL with Monday's win over Dallas.
The Blues beat the Stars 1-0 Monday night at the Scotty. The win gave them 60 points, and put them in a tie with the Rangers and Blackhawks for first place in the entire NHL. It has been a dozen years since the Blues have been at that spot this late in the season.
Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves for his third shutout of the season. He is 9-0-3 in his last 12 starts.
That was all the tight-checking Blues would need. They are defining their game as a team that plays a tight checking, defensive game, but has the skill to score when need be.
The young stars are beginning to shine, and the sky is the limit for this first place team.
The Blues win their first shootout of the season, hoisting them to first in the Central for another moment.
The Note defeated the Wild for the first time this season Saturday night, 3-2. It was also their first shootout victory on the season, moving their record in the "Shoot-em-ups" to 1-5. They were the last Western Conference team to have a shootout victory.
David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo scored just 2:35 apart in the second to erase a 1-0 deficit. Pietrangelo continues his fine play and was a beast all night long. It was as if he never left the ice, and made world-class moves while there.
Jaro Halak had another fine outing in net, including stopping all three Wild attempts in the shootout. That allowed for Kevin Shattenkirk's lone Blues' goal to seal the game. It was only their second shootout goal of the season, but enough for their first victory.
"I think this is a big weight off of everybody's shoulders, Coach Hitchcock said. "That's as much joy as I've seen on the bench in a long time."
Jaroslav Halak went into Montreal Tuesday for another high pressure game, but this time he was playing against the Habs. His reception was a warm one nonetheless.
After all of the media attention, Halak put on a clinic and lead the Blues to a 3-0 shutout victory, not to mention a first place position in the Central Division.
Halak made 19 saves, not overwhelming, but that did included some highlights. None was better than the one he made against Tomas Plekanec just 3:13 into the game. Plekanec was stopped by Halak's quick right leg on a short handed breakaway.
"I tried to put my pad on the ice and thank God I stopped it," Halak told the Post-Dispatch. "It calmed me down."
But that was not the special moment. After sealing the shutout and getting congratulations from his teammates, Halak made his way off the ice while a capacity crowd stood cheering. His teammates would not let him down the tunnel.
"They told me to come out and enjoy the moment, and it was great," Halak said.
Highlights:
Who Gets the Start?
The rule to start the next game after a shutout was waved for Brian Elliott so that Halak could start the special game in Montreal. Elliott was to get the start against the Canucks Thursday night, but who starts now? I say Elliott, and when he gets a shutout then we start Halak after that, owing him his start from Montreal. They can just keep trading shutouts for all Blues fans care!
The Avalanche were one of the hottest teams in the league until they stepped onto Scottrade Center ice last night.
The Blues dominated the Avalanche and cruised to a 4-0, league-leading 17th home ice win Saturday. They scored two power play goals, and jumped into first in the Central Division. It was their first win against the Aves this season.
The first place spot will be relinquished when Detroit and Chicago meet up Sunday, but it is a testament to how well the Blues have been playing and how competitive the best division in hockey is.
Brain Elliot gained his fifth shutout of the season, facing only 15 shots. The Blues played most of the game in Colorado's end, including scoring two power play goals and being just one second shy of adding a third.
Patrik Berglund opened the scoring when T.J. Oshie banged a shot off his leg and past J.S. Giguere. Kevin Shattenkirk remained hot against his old club, scoring on a point shot. In the second, Jason Arnott, our power play savior, scored his team-leading fourth power play goal. Not to be outdone, Captain David Backes added his fourth PPG in the third to cap off a 4-0 route of the Aves.
The Blues are 24-12-5 at the midway point of the season and own first place in the Central Division this late in the season for the first time since January 2001.
Highlights:
Notes:
Elliott gained his fifth shutout of the season. Per Hitchcock's policy, he should get the start Tuesday against Montreal. That will not happen though, given that it is Halak's return to the city. I am not one for conspiracy theories, but it seems like the Blues are always finding excuses to play Halak over the hotter Elliott. Just a thought. ($$$$$$$)
T.J. Oshie was all over the ice. He was hitting and making plays offensively. He is becoming that player that everyone has thought he was been the last few seasons. This is how it should be.
David Backes: what a captain, what a leader.
Arnott: what a pick-up by Army. Think where the PP would be without him.
The Blues are doing all this without Steen, McDonald, Kris Russell, and Kent Huskins (who is set to return soon). They are proving their depth.
The Blues halted their longest winless streak at three games by defeating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1 at home last night.
Christ Stewart is quietly heating up and scored the first goal of the game. Jamie Langenbrunner added a goal in the first on a tip in from Barret Jackman's shot from the point. Phoenix scored late on a power play making the score 2-1 at the end of one. Speaking of things heating up as of late, T.J. Oshie scored on the power play in the Second on a nice neutral zone transition. Berglund added an empty netter to close out the game's scoring.
Jaroslav Halak made 33 saves and was the games number one star. David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo both had 2 assists. Jackman had a notably strong game on defense, which is significant since the Blues are shorthanded in that department due to injuries and suspensions.
The Note improved to 15-3-2 at home, and have nabbed 32 of a possible 40 points. The Blues have become one of the league's best home teams, which should come in handy during January when they play 9 of 11 at Scottrade. In February and March the team goes on the road for 19 of 30. They were in playoff contention last year until an awful January. This team looks to have a great January and rack up the points at home.
The Blues played back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday with mixed results. They did score two power play goals in each game.
Monday, they beat the Stars at home 5-3. Jaro Halak got the start and the win, not having to do much to outplay Dallas netminder Richard Bachman who was chased from the game after letting in a couple of easy goals.
Some significant tallies were scored by the Blues. Chris Stewart scored twice, which hopefully will spark his sniping ability. Adam Cracknell, who was called up to St. Louis on Christmas Eve, scored the second tally saying, "I'll take that Christmas present any day." Evgeny Grachev scored his first ever NHL goal and added a great celebration. Jason Arnott scored his 3rd power play goal of the season, which leads the team.
The Blues were swarming the Wings through the first two and only goalie Jimmy Howard kept it from being a 4 or 5 goal deficient for the home team. Maybe he should back-up Brian Elliott in the all-star game. Elliot got the nod for the Blues, played a strong game, but took home the loss.
The Blues scored two power play goals Tuesday night as they beat the Red Wings 3-2. The note improved to 2-0 against the wings this season.
The Blues' special teams played a huge roll in the victory, after letting them down in Saturday's 5-2 loss against Chicago.
After Detroit scored on a (bogus) power play, the Blues bounced back with a power play tally of their own from Alexander Steen. David Backes added another power play goal in the third. Patrick Berglund continued his dominance against Detroit, scoring on a rush and the Blues fended off some more bogus calls late to win 3-2.
The Blues beat the Capitals 2-1 in Washington last night. It was their fourth straight win and propelled them to 4th place in the Western Conference.
After falling behind 1-0, T.J. Oshie scored late in the first with a dazzling goal, batting the puck out of mid air. Matt D'Agostini scored his sixth goal on a wraparound in the second, and Halak stopped the rest of the pucks that came his way.
The Blues' next game is Friday night at Colorado. It is the first meeting of the season for the two teams. Colorado has had the note's number in recent years.
