St. Louis Blues 21-22

Jim Thomas
There can be no debate, the Blues have had Minnesota’s number under coach Craig Berube.
And after Friday’s 4-3 overtime triumph over the Wild at Enterprise Center, the number is 12. The Blues are 12-1-2 against the Wild since Berube replaced Mike Yeo as coach in November 2018.
It took quite a bit of work to get there Friday. For the first time this season the Blues overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to win a game. And then, of course, they had to actually do something in OT.
A refresher course: The Blues were 1-7 in OT this season prior to Friday, the worst record in the league. The Wild were 7-1 in OT this year, the second-best record in the league.

But there was no doubting Thomas on this night. Robert Thomas that is. He scored the game-winner at the 1:27 mark of extra time — his 17th goal of the season — on a beautiful high-speed feed from Vladimir Tarasenko.
“It was a good speed play,” Berube said. “Thommer came off the bench and got the puck in our own zone and he transports it with speed up the ice ... and then Vladi made a great read on it. Vladi was looking to shoot but he saw Thommer slide over there and made a great play.”

Thomas, who extended his career-long point streak to eight games, then beat Minnesota goalie Cam Talbot backdoor to send another sellout crowd of 18,096 home happy.

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Great game..........................Playoff intensity..........................Husso was excellent in goal.........................The OT goal by Thomas was off a give and go where he passed to Tarasenko and took off towards the goal and banged in the winner...............

next game is tonight @ the New York Islanders at 6:30 pm CT

LETS GO BLUES

Tom Timmermann
Tyler Bozak, who hasn’t played since March 13, and Torey Krug, who was injured on March 22, both took the ice for the team’s morning skate Friday and could be back in the lineup soon.
“They’re coming along well,” Blues coach Berube said. “I thought they looked pretty good in practice today. So, good to see. I’m not sure the date when they’ll be back yet but it’s getting close.”
Berube said the two needed “contact and things like that, and a real practice, like a full practice. Hopefully soon we get into one and they can join us.”
With the team’s compacted schedule to close the season, there haven’t been many practices lately, but with a rare two-day gap between games coming up, the Blues figure to have one on Monday before flying to Boston for a two-game trip.

When he went out, the Blues said Bozak would be re-evaluated in four weeks, which would be Monday. Bozak has missed 11 games with a lower-body injury.
Krug was described as week to week after he took a whack on the left hand during the Washington game. He has missed eight games.

With no roster limit after the trade deadline, Krug has remained on the active roster so no moves are needed to bring him back. Bozak was placed on long-term injured reserve on March 24 after Krug got hurt so they would have space to call up Calle Rosen from Springfield to give them a seventh defenseman. When Bozak is ready to go, assuming that Krug is ready also, the simplest move would be to send Rosen back to Springfield.

Binnington in goal tonight

Hope we don't fall behind by 3-4 goals in the first period like last time

pruman91 said:

Binnington in goal tonight

Hope we don't fall behind by 3-4 goals in the first period like last time

Click to expand...

Hush...

Whew.....no goals allowed by Binnington....
Blues lead 2-0 over Islanders

Blues lead 6-1 after 2........

Blues putting on a show tonight....attacking the goal with a feeding frenzy

Jim Thomas

The New York Islanders came out trying to play rough.
Zdeno Chara knocked Jordan Kyrou into next week, slamming the young Blue into the boards before he was taken to the locker room for evaluation.
Ross Johnston got in Alexei Torophchenko’s grill, cross-checking him in the chops.
The Blues responded with goals. A net full of goals. They had a half-dozen against one of the NHL’s top defensive teams . . . before the second period ended.
Nick Leddy, Vladimir Tarasenko, Justin Faulk (twice), Ivan Barbashev and Robert Thomas all made the roll call.
What shaped up as a tough, tough game for them following their emotional overtime win Friday over Minnesota turned into a rare laugher for the red-hot Blues, a 6-1 victory.

“Our team was focused tonight,” coach Craig Berube said. “They were ready to play. That was really good. With the energy that was spent in (Friday) night’s game and the emotion, we had a lot today, which was good to see.”Playing before the 25th sellout of the season at Enterprise Center, the Blues completed a four-game homestand by overwhelming the Islanders. Starting with a 2-1 win over the Blues in early March, the New Yorkers were 13-5-1 — the second-best record in the NHL over that stretch. But you would’ve never known it by what transpired Saturday as the Blues stretched their season-long point streak to eight games (7-0-1). They are 42-20-10 this season for 94 points, moving two points ahead of idle Minnesota into second place in the Central Division. The Wild have played two fewer games than St. Louis.

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The second period for the Blues might have been their best period this season as they dominated the Islanders in every aspect of the game's stats.......

Robert Thomas is on the doorstep of NHL stardom , if not already there......What he does on the ice is poetic artistry with the puck and he is being the beneficary of some great passes back to him for some highlight reel goals......

Binnington was rock solid in goal , but let's not fool ourselves into thinking he is back to # 1 status......Husso has proven himself to being the # 1 goalie and should get 90 % of the remaining starts in goal.......

JMHO

Tom Timmermann
The Blues got one forward back but lost another one on Saturday.
Jordan Kyrou, who missed Friday’s game with Minnesota with an illness, was back in the lineup on Saturday, though the decision wasn’t made until after warmups. It was still a rough day for him. He got hit by the Islanders Zdeno Chara in the first period, fell awkwardly and was slow to get up and spent the rest of the period in the training room, presumably going through the NHL concussion protocol. He returned for the start of the second period. The Blues did not approve of the hit on Kyrou, with both Robert Bortuzzo and David Perron going after Chara.
The Blues, however, were without fourth-line forward Mackenzie MacEachern, who suffered an upper-body injury in the second period on Friday and didn’t play. Blues coach Craig Berube said MacEachern was day-to-day. MacEachern played only 4:36 on Friday before getting hurt.

MacEachern spent most of the season with Springfield of the AHL, but since his callup on March 7 he’s been a regular in the lineup, suiting up in 14 of 16 games on the fourth line. MacEachern along with Nathan Walker and Alexei Toropchenko had been giving the Blues the effectiveness it had been looking for all season on that line.Had Kyrou not been able to go, Berube would have had no choice but to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen again. Niko Mikkola took pregame warmups but ended up as a healthy scratch.

Blues leading the NHL with 7 20 goal scorers with the potential to have 9 20 goal scorers by the end of the season is nothing short of insane.

Tom Timmermann
As teammates took to the ice for the Blues’ morning skate on Wednesday, coach Craig Berube and goalie Jordan Binnington got together on the ice in front of the team’s bench for a chat.
The ice is Berbue’s office, his chosen locale for one-on-one meetings with struggling players. Usually, it happens after practice, when Berube taps a player with his stick and pulls him aside for a combination pep talk and hockey lesson.
This time, the decision to talk was mutual.
“He wanted to talk to me too,” Berube said Saturday. “I think it goes both ways. He understands the situation, he understands he has to play better and I tell him we have confidence in him and we know he’s going to play well.”

“Just kinda get the mindset back to competing, competing all the time against everyone,” Binnington said. “Especially the opponent. Just get that feel back through work and compete. So that was kind of the majority of the (conversation), just get back to work. So it was a good week, good homestand for us. We put ourselves in a good spot here and we gotta carry that going forward.”With the Blues battling for second place in the Central Division, a battle that figures to go to the closing days of the season, points are of the essence for the team. That means Ville Husso, who has been one of the top goalies in the NHL this season, will get almost all the starts. But for the Blues to get confidence in Binnington, and Binnington to get confidence in himself, when chances like Saturday come along, the goalie must grab them.

The return of Torey Krug appears imminent for the Blues’ defense.
Both Krug and Tyler Bozak practiced again on Monday, with coach Craig Berube saying they are close to a return.
How close?
“They’re coming on the trip,” Berube said. “They’re getting close, both of them. There’s a chance one (plays) tomorrow.”
The Blues play at Boston on Tuesday and at Buffalo on Thursday. Based on what transpired in practice, it looks like Krug would be the one to return. Krug took part in line rushes and also alternated with Nick Leddy running the Blues’ first power play unit.

Bozak took part in drills, but did not take part in line rushes.

When asked if Krug could be the one to play Tuesday against Boston, Berube replied: “Maybe. I don’t know yet. I gotta decide.”
If that’s the case it would be his first game against his former team since signing in free agency with St. Louis prior to the 2020-21 season.
Krug has missed 10 games since suffering an injury to his left hand/wrist March 22 at Washington. Bozak has missed 13 games with a lower body injury suffered in practice March 15. Bozak has been on the long-term injured reserve list since March 24, and as of Monday still had that designation.

The return of Torey Krug appears imminent, and that means the defense Blues general manager Doug Armstrong envisioned when he traded for Nick Leddy at the March 21 deadline is about to materialize.
“It’ll be great to have all six guys back to kind of gel — where their role is, where their minutes are,” forward David Perron said.
It could happen as soon as Tuesday, as fate would have it, with Krug potentially returning to the lineup to face his former team — the Boston Bruins — at TD Garden.
Krug and forward Tyler Bozak practiced again on Monday. (Previously, they had taken part in the morning skate Friday.) They accompanied the team on the two-game trip to Boston and Buffalo.

Berube threw out an interesting tease when he said one of those two players could play against Boston.
Based on what transpired in practice Monday, it looks as if Krug would be the one. He took part in line rushes and also alternated with Leddy running the Blues’ first power-play unit. Bozak participated in drills, but did not take part in line rushes.
When asked if Krug could be the one to play Tuesday against Boston, Berube replied: “Maybe. I don’t know yet. I gotta decide.”

If that’s the case, it would be his first game against his former team since signing in free agency with St. Louis before the 2020-21 season.

Jim Thomas
The Blues didn’t like the crunching hit Zdeno Chara put on Jordan Kyrou in Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders. David Perron in particular.
When asked Monday if the hit bothered him, Perron replied: “Of course. Obviously, it was a penalty. But we’re lucky that ‘Rousie’ (Kyrou) came back from this. It could’ve been worse. A lot worse.
“He’s been one of our top players this year. You just point out the team aspect and try and kind of show up for him. We all know no one’s gonna fight Chara, but I tried to get that back for sure.”
Just five minutes into the game, Chara — all 6 feet 9, 256 pounds of him — caught the 196-pound Kyrou off-balance with a hit that resulted in Kyrou slamming into the boards, with his head making contact with the wall.

It took a while for Kyrou to gather himself and leave the ice. He spent the rest of the first period in the locker room area, apparently getting checked for a concussion, but was able to return for the second period and finish the game.Perron’s not the biggest Blue, at 202 pounds. He’s highly competitive and plays a feisty, agitating style. But he’s not the most physical player either in terms of laying out opponents with hits. Nonetheless, he felt something had to be done even though Chara got two minutes for interference.

Bruins lead the Blues 2-1
after 1......
Blues had a goal canceled by a clear off sides call

Wow Alexa !!!!
Nice outfit love the low cut top
I really really do

Blues lead 3-2 after 2......

Alexa's top is the highlight of the game so far

pruman91 said:

Wow Alexa !!!!
Nice outfit love the low cut top
I really really do

Click to expand...

Could she be NL #4...

whatahack said:

Could she be NL #4...

Click to expand...

In a heartbeat

Blues now lead 4-2
Tarasenko-Buchnevich-Thomas line is ELITE

Wow...what a goal

whatahack said:

Wow...what a goal

Click to expand...

I really like what the Blues are doing on the ice in their last few games
Could be another special season
Why not ?

Great win...another rock solid game by Husso

That's a winner!!!!

# 1 star of the game ......
Alexa's low cut top

Tom Timmermann
BOSTON — Opponents might consider adding a line in their scouting report on the Blues: Don’t get them angry.
After a hit by Zdeno Chara on Jordan Kyrou energized the Blues on Saturday against the Islanders, a hit by Boston’s Trent Frederic on Vladimir Tarasenko on Tuesday swung the momentum in the Blues’ favor as they shook off some sluggish play to rally for a 4-2 win over the Bruins at TD Garden.
There was 5:43 to go in the second period with Boston up 2-1 when after a whistle Frederic, a St. Louisan playing his first game against his hometown team and whose family’s roofing company advertises on Blues broadcasts, went after Tarasenko and laid a hit on him. Tarasenko ended up getting the better of the hit, holding his ground and knocking Frederic to the ice. Frederic got two minutes for roughing, the Blues got a power play, the tying goal and then added two more.

“We get a power play and score,” said Blues coach Craig Berube, assessing the importance of the hit, “but you can’t intimidate Vladi. He’s not going to get intimidated, and he’s strong, so you can see when he went to hit him, he fell down. It motivates guys on our team too, and that’s you make them pay. You go on the power play and score.”
The win was a season-high sixth in a row for the Blues. They’re 8-0-1 in their past nine overall and 5-1-1 in their past seven road games. Tarasenko scored twice to run his season total to 28 goals and Torey Krug, returning to the lineup, to Boston and playing on his 31st birthday, had a goal and an assist.


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great game by the BLUES................................................

great low cut top by ALEXA........................................

just a GREAT NIGHT all around..................

LETS GO BLUES

Jeff Gordon
The Blues made a positive impression on New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz Saturday night while routing his team 6-1.
“They kept it simple,” Trotz said. “They went in straight lines, made plays, put it to the net, won races, and shot the puck and we didn’t do that.”
Such positive peer review is music to Craig Berube’s ears. Chief has his most offensively skilled team since taking over as Blues coach, but that talent can get in the way of winning.
Sometimes this team chooses risky places over safe ones, like when it faced the Seattle Kraken last Wednesday. The result was a back-and-forth game the Blues won with Ville Husso’s goaltending.

The tenacious Minnesota Wild forced them back to basics Friday and they rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory. Then they played a direct north-south game against the Islanders, pinning them into their own zone for long stretches.
As a bonus, goaltender Jordan Binnington delivered a reassuring performance in his first victory since Feb. 27.
So the Blues showed signs of playoff readiness before racing into a more wide-open game at Boston Tuesday. They have the firepower to make a deep playoff run, but they must maximize that ability by playing smart, relentless and physically tough hockey.