St. Louis Blues 21-22

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#451      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After taking a stick under the eye Saturday against Minnesota and experiencing blurry vision, Blues defenseman Nick Leddy was doing much better Sunday according to coach Craig Berube.
Just not well enough to play against Nashville.
“He’s fine, but he’s not gonna play tonight,” Berube said before Sunday’s contest against the Predators. “I don’t think it’s gonna be anything long.”
Calle Rosen replaced Leddy in the lineup, on the third defensive pairing with Robert Bortuzzo. Torey Krug, who had been paired with Bortuzzo in all three games since returning from a hand injury, moved up to the second pairing with his partner for most of the year — Justin Faulk.

Rosen had been a healthy scratch for the prior three games after playing seven of the previous eight contests.

“I like his speed and his ability to move the puck,” Berube said. “He’s a head’s-up player. He’s got real good feet. He makes good plays with the puck. He’s played well.”He played well enough Sunday to score his first goal in 14 games as a member of the Blues, and his second NHL career goal (34 games). Early in the second period, Rosen raced down the ice on an odd-man rush with Vladimir Tarasenko and Robert Thomas. Tarasenko got the primary assist, dishing to Rosen on left wing. Rosen then lifted a roof shot past Predators goalie Juuse Saros.
 
#452      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

Jim Thomas
NASHVILLE — The goals were plentiful Sunday, like resplendent eggs on an Easter morning lawn.
If you thought the Blues might be a little flat after clinching a playoff berth a day earlier against Minnesota, think again.
After a 1-1 first period Sunday at Bridgestone Arena, the Blues scored a touchdown in the second period against the Nashville Predators en route to an 8-3 victory.
Seven goals in one period. That’s a franchise record for the Blues.
Vladimir Tarasenko notched a goal and two assists, setting a career high for points in one season at 76.

Jordan Kyrou snapped out of his scoring slump with a couple of goals, giving him 25 for the season.
Fresh off his overtime winner Saturday against the Wild, Brayden Schenn scored twice, boosting his season goal total to 24.
And did we mention defenseman Calle Rosen? Yes, Calle Rosen. The 28-year-old native of Vaxjo, Sweden, played in his 34th NHL game — his 14th Blues game. And scored twice in the second period against the Predators. He had one career NHL goal —one — beforehand. He also had an assist Sunday.
So yes, things are going well for the Blues (46-20-10). They won their ninth straight game, and ran their point streak to 12 games (11-0-1) with Sunday’s smashing of, uh, Smashville.
 
#453      

IlliniwekKDR

Colorado Springs, CO

Jim Thomas
NASHVILLE — The goals were plentiful Sunday, like resplendent eggs on an Easter morning lawn.
If you thought the Blues might be a little flat after clinching a playoff berth a day earlier against Minnesota, think again.
After a 1-1 first period Sunday at Bridgestone Arena, the Blues scored a touchdown in the second period against the Nashville Predators en route to an 8-3 victory.
Seven goals in one period. That’s a franchise record for the Blues.
Vladimir Tarasenko notched a goal and two assists, setting a career high for points in one season at 76.

Jordan Kyrou snapped out of his scoring slump with a couple of goals, giving him 25 for the season.
Fresh off his overtime winner Saturday against the Wild, Brayden Schenn scored twice, boosting his season goal total to 24.
And did we mention defenseman Calle Rosen? Yes, Calle Rosen. The 28-year-old native of Vaxjo, Sweden, played in his 34th NHL game — his 14th Blues game. And scored twice in the second period against the Predators. He had one career NHL goal —one — beforehand. He also had an assist Sunday.
So yes, things are going well for the Blues (46-20-10). They won their ninth straight game, and ran their point streak to 12 games (11-0-1) with Sunday’s smashing of, uh, Smashville.
Hot Stuff Food GIF by Budgy Smuggler

We are red hot right now!
 
#454      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
In a dismal 2nd period by the Blues ,Robert Thomas scored a highlight goal with only 2.4 seconds left to tie the game at 2 - 2 ..

The Bruins dominated the period with excellent forecking and the Blues allowed the Bruins easy access in deep in the Blues end
Husso was excellent keeping the Blues in the
game ..

LETS GO BLUES
 
#455      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
Blues lose in OT 3 - 2
Snaps Blues 9 game winning streak
 
#456      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

Just as the Boston bully shoved Jordan Kyrou’s back with his hands, Kyrou passed with his backhand.
And while Kyrou landed hard on the ice, he was the one who provided the back-breaking.
See, his no-look backhand zipped across the slot Tuesday to an open Vladimir Tarasenko. He one-timed a pass to Pavel Buchnevich, who one-timed a power-play goal.
When push comes to shove, the Blues produce on the power play — second-best in the National Hockey League (26.8%). And they slay on the penalty kill — sixth-best (83.9%).
Look, Tampa Bay is good because Tampa Bay has good players. But a product of that is the Lightning’s special teams. The winner of the past two Stanley Cups had the third-best postseason power play in 2021, fifth-best in 2020 and third-best in 2018, when Tampa Bay made the conference final. And the Lightning’s PK was often impenetrable a postseason ago.


For the Blues to “be” the Lightning — and who knows, even beat the Lightning — they must carry this special teams success into May (and June). Some advanced stats, such as expected goals, make statheads wonder if St. Louis can make a run. But the Blues can counter any of that with a dominant power play.
And while you probably knew the power play was good … did you know it’s literally the best in franchise history?
 
#457      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

Tom Timmermann
Ivan Barbashev has seen a huge jump in his offensive production this season with 24 goals and 32 assists, both career highs. In the past week, he’s also provided a reminder of the older, more physical, Ivan Barbashev.
As the number of post-whistle scraps has increased in recent games, Barbashev has often been found in the midst of them. He came to the rescue of teammate Pavel Buchnevich in the Minnesota game and he laid out Boston’s Taylor Hall on Tuesday, leading to scrap with Boston’s Curtis Lazar which ended up wiping out Boston’s power play when Lazar got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for going after Barbashev.

Barbashev is third on the team in penalty minutes since March 1 and he had seven hits in the Boston game. He leads the team in hits this season with 157 and the only players who have more hits per game are either Robert Bortuzzo or denizens of the fourth line. Hit totals can vary widely from building to building and stat crew to stat crew, but his seven are tied for the most at Enterprise Center this season. Justin Faulk was credited with eight in the Blues’ game at Montreal for the team high.
 
#459      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

Jim Thomas
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Blues hockey is all about streaks these days. Winning streaks, scoring streaks, point streaks.
The Blues kept several streaks going Thursday, the best of which is 14 games without a loss in regulation. That’s a franchise record thanks to a solid but unspectacular 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks at half-filled – if that – SAP Center. Pavel Buchnevich’s 29th goal of the season, an empty-netter, helped seal the deal with 11.5 seconds remaining.
“That’s special,” goalie Jordan Binnington said, referring to the point streak. “It goes without saying that’s pretty tough to do in this league. I think we’ve put a good series of games together here. We’ve kept our head down and kept working, taking one game at a time.

“You pick your head up every once in a while and we got a good number of points in a row.”
And after being just so-so away from home for much of the season, the Blues also extended their road point streak to eight games at 7-0-1.
“I think we’re approaching (road games) the same way,” Binnington said. “We’re sticking to our game plan. And like I said, we’re just keeping our head down and working, playing for each other, playing together. It’s definitely good to see.”
The Blues haven’t lost in regulation since March 26 – that 7-2 embarrassment to the Carolina Hurricanes. They haven’t lost in regulation on the road since a 5-4 loss in Columbus on March 19.

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LETS GO BLUES
 
#460      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

Jim Thomas
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Perhaps it’s only fitting that the Blues’ 2021-22 regular season winds down where it began more than six months ago — out West.
Starting with Thursday’s contest against the San Jose Sharks, the last road trip of the year also sends them to Arizona, Anaheim, and Colorado. There’s even a western theme to the regular-season finale at Enterprise Center because it’s against the Vegas Golden Knights.
That’s also appropriate because the playoff-bound Blues wouldn’t be where they are in the standings without their success against teams from the Mountain and Pacific time zones. They are 19-5-3 against teams from that part of the country following Thurday's 3-1 victory over San Jose.

And if you peel away the results against Arizona and Colorado — two Central Division teams — it’s even more impressive. To wit, the Blues were 16-3-3 against the Pacific Division teams this season following the San Jose game.
The Blues are hard-pressed to explain that dominance, but they’d be scrapping for a playoff berth without it instead of basking in the glow of 100-point status. Why so good against the West?

“It could be a lot of different things,” coach Craig Berube said. “Again, that’s in the past. You catch teams at different times, different situations. We took advantage of it.”
 
#461      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

Jim Thomas
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Remember when St. Louisan Trent Frederic made that, uh, unsuccessful run at Vladimir Tarasenko in last week’s Blues-Bruins game in Boston?
Pavel Buchnevich does. Frederic, you may recall, slammed into Tarasenko late in the second period of that 4-2 Blues victory April 12 at TD Garden — and got the worst of it. Frederic bounced off Tarasenko and fell to the ice.
Tarasenko responded by lowering his arms, palms out, as if to say: “Is that all you got?”
Frederic got a two-minute minor for roughing, and apparently some free advice from Buchnevich.
“What I say to Frederic, I say, ‘Go do lower-body workout,’” Buchnevich said. “‘I don’t know why you’re going there.’

“Vladi’s like long time in the league. Show some respect. What are you doing man? He’s like 10 years in the league. Our guy doesn’t go to hit (Patrice) Bergeron or whatever.”
Former Bruin Torey Krug scored on the power play to tie the game at 2-2, and three minutes later Tarasenko scored the game-winner. Tarasenko also scored an insurance goal midway through the third. The moral to the story? Don’t poke the bear.

Milestone for Berube​

Thursday’s 3-1 victory over San Jose was No. 154 for Craig Berube — pushing him past Brian Sutter into third place on the franchise career list for coaching victories.
 
#462      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

Jim Thomas
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Sooner or later, someone will shut down the Robert Thomas line. You know, law of averages and all that.
But it hasn’t happened lately, that’s for sure.
If you had to single out one reason why the Blues are a red-hot team, it’s the red-hot line of Pavel Buchnevich on left wing, Thomas at center and Vladimir Tarasenko on right wing.
For proof, look no farther than the trio’s production during the Blues’ franchise record 14-game point streak. Over that stretch, Buchnevich, Thomas and Tarasenko have combined for 72 points on 28 goals and 44 assists.
They’ve had at least one goal in all 14 games and have scored at least two goals in 10 of the 14.

Individually, Thomas has points in 15 straight games, Buchnevich in 11, and Tarasenko in eight.
No, your team doesn’t go on a 12-0-2 tear by accident.
“It’s fun to watch. That’s for sure,” captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “Some of the plays that they’re making. … These guys, they’re confident, they’re playing so hard.
“I know for fans, too, it’s exciting to watch these guys. They’re so dynamic and dangerous. Every time they get the puck they create so much. It’s something that we feed off of.”
It’s been so exciting that their teammates have become fans.
“It’s not surprising just because we’ve seen glimpses of it throughout the season,” defenseman Torey Krug said. “You could sense that the chemistry was building. Obviously throughout the year, guys play with different linemates. ‘Chief’ (Craig Berube) mixing up the pairings or whatever that is up front.”

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LETS GO BLUES
 
#465      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
Another third period meltdown on D for the Blues

4 - 4.......going to OT
 
#466      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
Blues win 5 - 4 in OT

sloppy third period but Faulk scored winning goal 30 seconds into OT


LETS GO BLUES

Next game tomorrow night against the Anaheim Ducks
7 pm CT
 
#467      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

Jim Thomas
GLENDALE, Ariz. _ No matter who you’re playing, NHL games can turn in a hurry.
So it was Saturday for the Blues, who were having a picnic with the Arizona Coyotes – up 4-1 in the third period only to find themselves holding on for dear life at the end. The Coyotes, the NHL’s worst offense, invaded that Blues picnic like an army of hungry ants, sending the game into overtime tied at 4-4.
But just when a nightmare finish seemed possible for the Blues, in rode Justin Faulk to the rescue. His goal 30 seconds into overtime – his second score of the night – salvaged a 5-4 victory for the Blues.
“He does everything for us,” coach Craig Berube said. “He’s an all-situational guy. He gives you the same effort every night. That’s the bottom line. His effort is the same every night. He competes hard, works hard and plays direct.”

And he’s scoring goals – at a pace not seen from him since his heyday with the Carolina Hurricanes. Faulk opened the scoring with his 14th goal of the season just 3 minutes 13 seconds in, and then said goodnight to the Coyotes with his 15th goal – his highest goal total since the 2016-17 season (17 goals) with Carolina.
Getting steady duty this season on the power play has created more opportunities.
“I think that helps,” Faulk said. “You just get to feel the puck a little bit more. Get to shoot. But realistically, I think our group of forwards creates a lot of room for us. They draw a lot of attention to them in the offensive zone because they’re so good at holding onto the puck, making those little passes, little plays, and kind of wearing the ‘D’ out.”
 
#468      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Blues’ goaltending situation has been a moving target throughout the season. Lots of Jordan Binnington, followed by lots of Ville Husso. And periods where the two were alternating in net.
Just when you thought you had it figured out, along came coach Craig Berube with a tweak or two.
Saturday was one of those “tweak” nights, with Berube breaking with his recent trend of alternating goalies game to game. He gave Binnington the start against the Arizona Coyotes. That meant successive starts for Binnington, who stopped 20 of 21 shots in the Blues’ 3-1 victory Thursday over San Jose.
“He hasn’t done that in a while,” Berube said prior to Saturday’s game. “It’s an opportunity to get him in there in (successive games). Just going down the stretch here, I don’t want one goalie not playing in a certain amount of time, so it works out that way for us.”

Binnington posted his fifth straight win, but the numbers weren't pretty in a 5-4 overtime triumph over the Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Binnington stopped only 16 of 20 shots, but one of the Arizona goals came on a deflection, one was the result of a turnover, and one came after a defensive lapse.
Binnington hadn’t started successive games since a 6-4 Winter Classic win over Minnesota on Jan. 1 and a 5-3 loss at Pittsburgh on Jan. 5. Binnington entered Saturday’s game riding a four-game personal winning streak and with growing confidence.
 
#469      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
Alexa with another fashion statement tonight
Wow
Impressive cleavage
Strong + / -
O / U 36D
 
#470      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
Ducks lead Blues 2 - 0 after 1st period
Blues lead in shots on goal
12 - 3
 
#475      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf played his last home game Sunday; he’s calling it a career after 17 seasons, all with the Ducks.
The Ducks don’t draw many fans these days, but there was a standing room only crowd of 17,446 at Honda Center to say farewell to a player who’s been around so long, the team still was called the Mighty Ducks when he entered the league.
In a touching pregame ceremony, Getzlaf was presented with a dream golf vacation and an off-road vehicle of some sort that looked kind of like a dune buggy.
The crowd was into it, and they were really into it when the Ducks surprised the Blues by taking a 2-0 lead in the opening period. A good time was had by all. And then reality —and the Blues — kicked in.

On the strength of a four-goal second period, and six consecutive scores overall, the Blues coasted to a 6-3 win.
“The team’s playing really well, starting from the goaltending all the way up,” said veteran Tyler Bozak, who returned to the lineup after missing 20 games because of a groin tear. “Everyone’s contributing. Everyone’s working hard and doing the right things.
Sundays and second periods are a thing for the Blues lately. Last Sunday, they scored a franchise record seven goals in the second period in Nashville. This Sunday, it was four goals in the second period in Anaheim.



After spotting the Ducks that 2-0 lead in the first, Jordan Kyrou, Vladimir Tarasenko Ivan Barbashev and Justin Faulk all found the net in the second period — over a span of 7 minutes 9 seconds.
 
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