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Did you miss me? I finally am all moved in with internet and cable so I am able to recap for you all once more! So onwards with it I will go!
First Period
Tonight the Blues returned after a sizable gap in their schedules after last Thursday’s game against the Canucks. They took the ice tonight looking slow, lethargic, and uninspired against he tired Phoenix team. So in other words it was a typical first period from the 2013-2014 St. Louis Blues. As <a href="https://twitter.com/Fusion4days">@Fusion4days</a> put it on twitter, the period was a combination of a constant stream of Faceoff, Whistle and repeat. About 10 minutes into the game I was falling asleep. Basically one sentence covers the entirety of the first 20 minutes: The first period was BORING. Although there was little to no dynamic hockey playing on the ice tonight by either team, TJ Oshie somehow snuck in a goal to put the Blues on top, 1-0.
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Second Period
The start of the second round of 20 minutes in the Hockey Contest started out much like the first period. Slow, steady, and boring. The team from St. Louis would struggle to get things going. ultimately relying on their defense to take long shifts to keep the team squarely in the lead of the scoreboard. They went on the power play in the first 2 minutes of the period and I barely noticed a difference in urgency, play style, or effort. The Blues skates would appear to be moving in sludge or jello instead of the smooth quick paced style that only ice can bring to the sport of hockey. Half way through the period coach Ken Hitchcock would call a timeout in an attempt to give his defense a short break and wake the rest of the team up.
The boys in blue would get a chance with the man advantage when Michael Stone would sit for 2 minutes after cross checking Vladimir Tarasenko in the boards at a bad angle. At 12:54 of the period, halfway through the power play, the USA Chant would ring out loud and proud at the DrinkScotch tonight. Oshie would get another goal after a nice tick tack toe play from Kevin Shattenkirk and David Backes. The American’s would get a little bit of help from Canada as Jaden Schwartz would screen Mike Smith to make the goal Possible. The Blues would go up 2-0 on the struggling team from Phoenix.
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The Second period would continue with a little life seeping into the skates of the Blues and yotes. Unfortunately the Blues’ Captain Backes would get caught on a bad play on Jordan Szwarz. The hit would result in a power play opportunity for the team from the desert. The Yotes would make Backes pay for the penalty box time with a goal at 19:12. The Blues and desert dogs would go into the locker room with a score of 2-1.
Robb had some charts about puck possession and stuff. I still just can’t get a handle on all of this #FancyStats stuff so I will just do as Shia Labeouf does and copy his work and present it as my own… actually no I am far to lazy to put that much effort into it… here is some Fancy Stat chart on Puck Possession. It proves how much of a snooze fest the first two rounds of hockey were.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23stlblues&src=hash">#stlblues</a> vs coyotes possession chart through 2 periods (via <a href="https://twitter.com/ExtraSkater">@extraskater</a>). flat lines = snoooooze-fest on ice tonite <a href="http://t.co/t6mUpoOasS">pic.twitter.com/t6mUpoOasS</a></p>— Robb (@robbtuftshockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/robbtuftshockey/statuses/423290569666732032">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Third Period
The third period would be all defense all the time. The Yotes would come out strong against the St. Louis boys, holding them to just 1 shot for a considerable amount of time in the third period. The period was a jumble clusterfuck of a final 20 minutes and there is no reason the St. Louis Blues should have won this game, except for the Jaroslav Halak factor. Halak was all over the place tonight. He made some wonderfully spectacular saves to keep his team in the game. He gave them a chance to win this game when they were not playing the best of hockey. The haters may still be calling for his head but games like this certainly proves why Halak is fully capable of stealing games and points away from other teams.
Three Olympians of the Game
Third:
David Backs
Second:
Jaroslav Halak
First:
TJ Oshie
Bluenotes from Twitter
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>TJ Oshie now has 19 Points (5 G; 14 A) in his last 13 Home games. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23stlblues&src=hash">#stlblues</a></p>— STL Blues History (@STLBlueshistory) <a href="https://twitter.com/STLBlueshistory/statuses/423265084463276032">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Alex Pietrangelo now has Nine points in his 6 game consecutive Point streak & 10 Points in his last 9 games vs Phoenix Coyotes. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23stlblues&src=hash">#stlblues</a></p>— STL Blues History (@STLBlueshistory) <a href="https://twitter.com/STLBlueshistory/statuses/423264895069478914">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Is it just me or was that a ridiculously boring period of hockey?</p>— St Bluenatic Chris (@Bluenatics) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bluenatics/statuses/423270570126344192">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/Bluenatics">@Bluenatics</a> Whistle. Faceoff. Whistle. Faceoff. Goal.Whistle.Faceoff. Repeat about 15 more times</p>— Brendan (@Fusion4days) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fusion4days/statuses/423271962647867392">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Cruel and unusual punishment would be a Blues / Coyotes 7 game series.</p>— Art Lippo (@ArtLippo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArtLippo/statuses/423277121947963392">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Scottrade salutes service member of the game, who brings along a <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Blues&src=hash">#Blues</a> flag that he had with him while serving overseas. Way cool.</p>— Timothy Cron (@CrossCheckRaise) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrossCheckRaise/statuses/423278508006055937">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>GET OFF MY RUSSIAN ANGEL.</p>— the jen (@the_jen) <a href="https://twitter.com/the_jen/statuses/423279946979479552">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>damn gamecenter lag..i need to remember to hide my TL... <a href="https://twitter.com/lkorac10">@lkorac10</a> tells me the goals before i see them! <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23stlblues&src=hash">#stlblues</a></p>— Booyah (@muymanwell) <a href="https://twitter.com/muymanwell/statuses/423280474023534592">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>"Shoot!...SHOOT THE DAMN PUCK!" [shot gets blocked] "What kind of shot is that?!?" -dudes behind me <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23DispatchesFrom305&src=hash">#DispatchesFrom305</a></p>— Jason McAdams (@JMill1120) <a href="https://twitter.com/JMill1120/statuses/423283221359374337">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>That was one of the best saves I've seen in a long time. Outstanding block, Halak. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Halakmageddon&src=hash">#Halakmageddon</a></p>— Laura (@hildymac) <a href="https://twitter.com/hildymac/statuses/423289844027387905">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>You will be chirped and you will like it. "<a href="https://twitter.com/Barbie4Yotes">@Barbie4Yotes</a>: quit yer yappin' I will not be chirped by a hat. A sombrero, perhaps, not a hat."</p>— Hitch's Hat (@HitchsHat) <a href="https://twitter.com/HitchsHat/statuses/423290691741962242">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Blues were pretty lucky to escape with two points. Haven't said that too often this season. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23StlBlues&src=hash">#StlBlues</a></p>— David Rogers (@FrozenNotes) <a href="https://twitter.com/FrozenNotes/statuses/423302665737494528">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Suck it Phoenix.</p>— Brad Lee (@GTBradLee) <a href="https://twitter.com/GTBradLee/statuses/423302482291204096">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Tweet of the Night
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Wait what, Panger? I think you meant ‘slippery’… <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23stlblues&src=hash">#stlblues</a></p>— Grant Sales (@grantsales) <a href="https://twitter.com/grantsales/statuses/423276887453208576">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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