Islanders Vs. Blues Recap: Well That Was Certainly...Something

Blues Forwards:

Jaden Schwartz - Brayden Schenn - Vladimir Tarasenko

Vladimir Sobotka - Paul Stastny - Alexander Steen

Dmitrij Jaskin - Oskar Sundqvist - Magnus Paajarvi

Scottie Upshall - Kyle Brodziak - Chris Thorburn

Blues Defensive Parings:

Carl Gunnarsson - Alex Pietrangelo

Joel Edmundson - Colton Parayko

Vince Dunn - Robert Bortuzzo

Starter But Not Finisher:

Jake Allen

Islanders Game Highlights:

The Islanders lost badly to Dallas last night 5-0. They more than likely didn’t get into St. Louis until about 2 or 3 in the morning. So the Blues totally could take advantage of that right? (Spoiler: No.)

John Tavares opened the scoring for the Islanders just four minutes into the game. Tavares took the puck from behind the net, puts on a little show and beats Allen and just like that it was 1-0 Islanders. Does the goal get nullified if one of the Blues players goes into the net with the puck? Asking for an Alexander Steen.

Midway through the first period the Islanders scored again. This time on a huge rebound given up by Allen. Nick Leddy put the puck on Allen. The puck bounced off of Allen and unfortunately right to Casey Cizikas who put the puck right back in the net. The Blues had a chance at the other end of the ice to score but couldn’t The Islanders come right back down the ice and do. This was a theme, and not a very fun one for this game tonight.

The Blues had another decent chance to score and didn’t. That led to a 2 on 1 the other way and a third goal of the period. Paul Stastny fired a puck at the net that either hit the side of the net or the post. Andrew Ladd collected the puck on a really high bounce off of whatever it hit and he and Jordan Eberle were off to the races. Eberle ended up beating Allen with a wrist shot and just like that it was 3-0 Islanders.

Jake Allen started the second period. Jake Allen would not finish the second period. Josh Ho-Sang made it 4-0 on what was a one time pass that actually bounced off Allen’s stick. Alan Quine passed the puck from behind the net, off Allen’s stick and right to Ho-Sang for the one timer. Have the rest of the night off Jake. Sorry the team in front of you was having a night off.

Enter Carter Hutton, and the Blues sense of urgency. With both teams down a skater, Brayden Schenn finally put the Blues on the board with a wrist shot that beats Islander starter Thomas Greiss. Schenn gets his 5th goal of the year. More importantly it gave the Blues some hope in coming back in this one.

Scottie Upshall had a very interesting shift on the Blues second goal of the night. As the clip starts you see him on his butt. He gathers himself and joins the rush. Bortuzzo got the initial shot on net. For whatever reason, the two Islanders players in front of Griess just stood there. Here comes Upshall flying in, and nudged the puck with his foot enough that it wound up in the back of the net. This was Upshall’s second goal of the year. He’s not used his stick for either of them.

So the Blues are finally playing decently. They have some momentum and that two goal lead is the worst lead in hockey. Time however was not on their side. Neither was Anders Lee who scored Islander’s goal number 5 and sealed the win for the bad guys.

The Blues outshot the Islanders 37-29 for what that was worth. They also led in hit posts with at least two confirmed pipe ringers. They had their chances to score for sure, they just didn’t. Giving up the first goal (or three) finally came back to bite them. They got away with it in the Devils and even Arizona game, but not against an actual good team. The Blues hit the road against Calgary on Monday night.

IT’S JUST DUSTY IN HERE OK?!?

Yeost Game:

Because I know you all need to know who won the Panger Award this week:

Players of the Game:

Thank you vets for sacrificing part of your life so I can make shitty jokes on the internet.