Andy Murray is a friggin' genius. That's the only explanation for the Blues' 2-1 win Tuesday night at home against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Hold, me baldy. Hold me.
First of all, Murray had to know the Desert Dogs are pretty pathetic on the power play. He probably went to NHL.com before the game and saw that the Coyotes convert only 14 percent of their power play chances. That ranks 27th out of the 30-team NHL. So giving them eight minutes on the power play was not dangerous as you probably believed. In fact it was an offensive strategy with Silent Jay McClement scoring his third shorthanded goal of the year. Did you know McClement had not scored a shorty in his career before this season? Damn, that Murray is good.
He celebrates. Quietly.
And apparently coach knows how to get the most out of David Perron as well. The demoted forward is spending his nights passing the puck to the apparently tired and worn down Patrik Berglund and the offensively challenged Cam Janssen. And still Perron scores on a dump-in play. He was skating to the bench, had his head turned and didn't even know he had scored the goal. Now that's coaching!
Look, the Blues haven't scored more than three goals in a game since Feb. 10. The offense isn't getting better. But the defense is still strong, keeping the puck to the perimeter, keeping scoring chances down and controlling the flow of the game. Plus the Blues continue to play as physical as any team in the league. That kind of play still gives some flicker of hope that this team can continue inching up the standings.
Below is the post-game interviews with a gushing Perron and a humble Silent Jay. Bonus points to anyone who can identify the songs on the dressing room stereo. Sounds kind of high school girlish to me.