Islanders at Blues preview: Clean up your act

Thursday night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes showed the dangers inherent in playing down to your opponents - you can risk an extra point. No one wants to go to overtime. No one wants a shootout. No one complains when that’s the result after a team bounces back from a deficit, but when it’s a team that you shouldn’t realistically be in a hole to, there’s some room for conversation.

On the other hand, shit happens, and the Blues are an incredible 13-3-1 to start this season, so it’s probably just best for the team to glean whatever lessons they can from Thursday and keep on moving forward.

The Islanders would love to move forward after a 5-0 shellacking at the hands of the Dallas Stars last night. The 8-6-2 Islanders sit tied with the Flyers for the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. One of those OTL/SOL came against the Blues, who beat them 3-2 in the shootout a month ago on October 9th.

All three of the Blues’ losses have come against the Eastern Conference this year, and the Islanders are always a tough team to draw. Will they be defeated by last night’s loss, or will Doug Weight rally the troops for a comeback tonight?

Speaking of troops, the Blues are honoring our vets tonight and Jake Allen has a very special mask that honors both the American and Canadian armed forces. One side features Bobby Gassoff Jr., the son of former Blue Bob Gassoff, and former Blues goalie Ed Staniowski. Both of Allen’s great-grandfathers fought in WWII, which makes me feel ancient since my great-grandfather fought in World War I.

The mask will be auctioned for charity after the game. Happy Veterans/Remembrance Day, and thank you all for your service!