Saturday October 22.  St. Louis Blues at Edmonton Oilers

Final Score: St. Louis Blues: two – Edmonton Oilers: zero

Well that was heart attack inducing. The Blues traveled to Edmonton on Saturday, defeating the Oilers 2-0 in a very stressful game. After scoring early in the first period, this game remained stuck at 1-0 until the waning seconds of the third period when Justin Faulk scored an empty netter.  The Blues blanked the Oilers for three periods, primarily due to great team defense and some strong goaltending by Jordan Binnington, making 23 saves. Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich was once again absent after suffering an undisclosed injury in practice on Wednesday. To compensate for this loss, Blues Head Coach Craig Berube went with 11 forwards and seven defenseman to try and stiffel the Oilers high powered offense. They won. It worked. 

Keys Takeaways: 

Team defense:

The Blues struggling defensive core went under the microscope this past offseason and that scrutiny was only magnified after injuries to defensmen Marco Scandella and Scott Perunovich earlier this year. At least some of that criticism was put to bed after this game. All 23 Blues skaters played a strong, controlling defensive game, holding the high powered Oilers offense to just 23 shots. An Oilers offense, I might add, that contains two-time league MVP Connor McDavid and perennial 40-goal-scorer Leon Draisaitl.

Special teams play:

The Blues had a power-play unit that operated at 27% last season. That was good for second best in the NHL. However, there were questions if they would be able to replicate their success this season after losing forward David Perron to free agency. There doesn’t appear to be any problems so far as the Blues power-play looks automatic. The power-play unit had complete control when they were on the ice and their hard work was rewarded with a Torey Krug game-winning power-play goal. The Oilers however, have an equally strong power-play and the Blues penalty-kill did an excellent job neutralizing them on their one power-play.  

Lockdown ability:

The Blues were able to hold a lead for almost 55 minutes against one of the most potent offenses in the NHL. That’s nothing to scoff at. This Blues team has demonstrated their ability to lockdown and take complete control when they need to. They have demonstrated they are willing to play with grit and determination. These are the kind of traits that you want to see. They’re the kind of traits that get a team through the playoffs. 

Blues Bits Three-Stars of the Game:

Third Star: Vladimir Tarasenko – 1A

While Tarasenko did pick up a primary assist on Krug’s power play goal, it’s what he did off the scoresheet that was most impressive. Vladdy Daddy had an overall great game, there’s not much more to say after that. He made good passes, was smart with the puck and had a number of quality scoring chances. Hopefully, he continues at this pace for the remainder of the season. 

Second Star: Torey Krug – 1G (GWG)

Defenseman Scorey Krug did just that to open the game: score. A slick power-play one-timer off a pass from Tarasenko gave the Blues a lead that they never relinquished. Krug was solid on defense and looked very comfortable in his own end. This complemented his good offensive production, culminating in a fantastic overall game for the 31-year-old defenseman. The Blues coaching staff will look for Krug to keep producing this season on the second pair with teammate Justin Faulk.

First Star:  Jordan Binnington – 1.000 SV%, 23 Saves 

Don’t fear the reaper, it’s Binnington revenge season. Jordan Binnignton stopped all 23 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season. After sustaining a season ending injury in last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs, it is extremely encouraging to see Binnignton have such a strong bounce back. The Blues netminder is currently boasting a .943% save percentage on the season and his ability to play the puck has helped the Blues defense out a ton so far this year.