The St. Louis Blues were at home tonight to take on the surprising Phoenix Arizona Coyotes. Ok, maybe not that surprising, but they did beat Chicago last night. A returning Jori Lehtera came back to the lineup tonight after being out since the 29th of January. Jake Allen got the start for the Blues while Mike Smith got the start for the Coyotes.
First Period:
We all thought that, it's just the Coyotes right? I mean the Blues had outscored them 12-1 in the previous two games. The Blues looked sluggish at times in the first. That combined with Allen cheating a little would lead to this...Oops.
The Coyotes would maintain the 1-0 lead until David Backes hit T.J. Oshie with an amazing pass. Alexander Steen would find the rebound off of Smith to tie the game at 1:
Second Period:
The Blues would find their legs, or whatever they were missing in the first (please don't say gumption) and basically dominated the Coyotes like we know this team can do. Dimitri Jaskin would break the tie with this backhander at the 11:08 mark:
Despite having two powerplays in the period, the Blues would fail to convert both. Although, the second one looked a LOT better than the first. (Honestly, not saying that much) It's clear that the team misses Kevin Shattenkirk on the man advantage.
Third Period:
While holding the Coyotes to just 4 shots in the second period, the third saw the Coyotes put 13 shots on Allen. The Blues would then go on to survive what was really a heart wrenching last 3 minutes of the game. The Coyotes were awarded a penalty late, and that combined with Smith being pulled, would give them a 6 on 4. Allen would go on to hold and the Blues would go on to win 2-1. Allen stops all but one of the 26 shots that he faced. Smith would stop 34 of the 36 that he saw. Jaskin's goal would be his 4th game winner of the season. He continues to impress, and I really hope that Hitch rewards his good play as of late with more time. But then again...
The Blues top line had 14 shots between all 3, and would finish with 2 assists (Backes, Oshie) and a goal. (Steen)
The Blues hit the road for their next game as they will be in Tampa to take on the Lightning.