January 19, 2022
On Monday, the Blues welcomed the Nashville Predators to the Enterprise Center for the second time this season. Heading into this matchup, the Blues were two points behind the Predators in the Central Division standings with one game in hand. Needless to say, this battle for second place in the division was incredibly important and it did not disappoint as the Blues defeated the Predators 5-2. To add to this game’s impact, the Blues retired the jersey of legendary defenseman Chris Pronger before the game.
Key Takeaways:
The Blues’ depth scoring has been solid this season but a team cannot solely rely on the bottom six for offensive production, like the Blues have at points this season. The Blues didn’t need to lean on their depth against the Predators because the Blues’ top guys showed up. The first line for St. Louis accounted for all five of the Blues’ goals and 11 of the 15 points scored by Blues players. This balance of top line scoring and depth throughout an entire season is why the Blues offense is so lethal.
The Blues’ defensive play this season has been poor to say the least and that was painfully apparent on Monday. At various points throughout the game, the Blues would completely vacate the blue line, leading to various odd man rushes for the Preds. The defense left goaltender Ville Husso out to dry several times and without his spectacular play, the Blues would have most certainly been defeated. This problem can’t be solved internally. Unless the Blues can poach a defenseman like Jakob Chychrun or Hampus Lindholm at the trade deadline, the Blues’ Stanley Cup aspirations will be dashed before June.
Ville Husso played excellent once again on Monday and now many fans have to be wondering if Husso should be the Blues’ full time starter. The 26-year-old goaltender has a .933 save% in 10 starts this season while his counterpart in net, Jordan Binnington, has only a .906 save% in his 22 starts this season. Binnington had a rough game on Saturday, Jan. 15, against Toronto while Husso bailed out the Blues multiple times against Nashville. If this trend continues, it might be time to hand the reins to Husso full time.
Blues Bits Three-Stars of the Game:
Third Star: Ryan O’Reilly.
The captain came through for the Blues once again on Monday, scoring one goal and two assists. O’Reilly has scored four goals in his last five games while adding four assists in that same timespan. It’s safe to say that when O’Reilly plays well, the Blues succeed and right now, both are on big hot streaks.
Second Star: Brayden Schenn.
After missing the last two games due to COVID-19, Schenn returned to the lineup with an edge. Schenn has always been known as a streaky, on/off goal-scorer and right now, he is on. Schenn scored two goals and two assists including an absolute snipe that blew past Preds goalie Juuse Saros.
First Star: Ivan Barbashev.
“Ivan the Terrible” tied his career best of 15 goals on Monday, a record he set in the 2018-19 season. With over half of the season still remaining, calling this a breakout year for Barbashev is an understatement. He produces points regardless of what line he’s on and he did so again, scoring two goals and two assists.
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