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Blues fall to the Wings, streak ends at 4

The Blues headed to Detroit looking for their fifth win in a row, all against the Central Division. The Blues defeated the Red Wings by a score of 4-3 last week, their third straight win over the Wings, going back to last season. The top story leading into the game was a combination of the 4 game winning streak as well as the healthy scratch of Jay McKee, for the fifth game in a row. It should be interesting to see how that situation plays out. Following is a period by period review.

1st Period
The Red Wings had Chris Osgood in net. He entered last weeks game in relief of Dominik Hasek, who gave up 4 second period goals against the Note. The Blues called on Manny Legace, who had been remarkable in their 4 game win streak. The Blues did not get the start they wanted when Eric Brewer scooped the puck over the boards in his own zone while trying to clear. Brewer was called for a delay of game penalty. The Red Wings won the ensuing face off and Tomas Holmstrom fed Henrik Zetterberg who put the puck past Manny Legace, only 22 seconds into the game. Despite having the Number 1 penalty kill in the NHL, there was nothing they could do about the first goal. The Blues PK was tested again very soon, as Barrett Jackman was called for high sticking, just over four minutes in. The Blues penalty kill was able to stop that power play however.

Early in the first period, the Blues were dominated physically by Detroit. Whether it was chasing for a loose puck or even just trying to bring the puck in, the Blues were easily pushed off the puck or knocked down. Around the middle point of the period, the Blues started to find a rhythm and the play began heading back and forth. The Blues best chance came around the 7:30 mark when Lee Stempniak and David Perron had a 2 on 2. Stempniak put a shot on goal, but it was turned away by Chris Osgood. The Red Wings got their third power play of the period with just under 5 minutes remaining, when Bryce Salvador was called for hooking after having had the puck stolen from him. The Blues were able to kill that one off as well. Right after the power play ended, the Red Wings had a great chance when Jiri Hudler fired at shot that Manny Legace was able to snare out of the air.

The Blues biggest problem seemed to be their inability to apply offensive pressure. They were not only out-worked by the Wings, they were severely out-played. The Red Wings looked like they were in a completely different league and pretty much dominated the Blues for the first period.

2nd Period
The Blues came out in the second period hoping to replicate the success they had in the second period in last week’s win, in which they scored 4 goals and came from behind. It did not look like that was going to happen early on. Just over a minute into the period Martin Rucinsky was called for a penalty while defending Chris Chelios on an odd man rush. Ryan Johnson did get a shorthanded breakaway, but was unable to score. The Red Wings started peppering Legace late in power play but Legace stood strong. However, Dan Hinote was called for an iffy interference call right on the Legace’s doorstep that gave the Wings their 5th power play of the game. To this point, the Blues had zero. Also to this point, the Red Wings had outshot the Blues 15-5.

The Wings were able to score another power play goal towards the end of Hinote’s penalty. This made the score 2-0. The Blues got their first power play with six minutes gone in the second period. The Note however were held without a shot on goal while on the power play. The Blues received another power play with just under 9 minutes left in the period. The Blues best chance came when Keith Tkachuk fed a streaking Brewer who was robbed on a slap shot by Osgood. The Blues struggled again once both teams were at even strength. Detroit increased their lead to 3 when Dan Cleary had a miniature breakaway and put it past Legace. Things never really improved for the Blues either.

The first flash of physicality came in the form of Barrett Jackman laying a hit on a Red Wings player, only to be called for hooking less than a minute later, giving the Red Wings their 6th power play, this time a double minor. The period ended with the Blues on the penalty kill. My biggest gripe thus far in the game was the Blues’ lack of physical play. In their last meeting the Blues played much tougher than Detroit. That was not the case tonight however. They most frustrating evidence came when Dan Cleary tried to put a rebound past Legace. After the whistle was blown, Cleary poked at Legace a few times while Christian Backman pretty much just stood there and watched. Keith Tkachuk eventually came up and pushed Cleary out of the way. Cleary then came back on his next shift and scored a goal. I truly believe that if Backman would have laid out Cleary for poking at Legace, he would not have come back and scored a goal. Through the second period the Blues were out-shot 24-10. Ouch.

3rd Period
The Blues started the period on the penalty kill and were able to keep the Wings from scoring. They still were not able to get any momentum though. Coach Murray continued to tinker with his lines, as he had all game. His latest groupings had Stempniak and Kariya swapping places. The Boyes-Stempniak-Tkachuk line did get a couple of chances. The Blues were back to their old tricks before long though as they took yet another penalty. David Perron was called for holding 6 minutes into the third. The Blues were once again able to stop the Wings from scoring on that power play. However, the Red Wings got another power play. Tkachuk was called for a double minor high sticking. Before that penalty ended however, the Red Wings were called for a penalty, when Tomas Holmstrom was called for interference after pushing Jackman down in front of the Blues net.

The Blues were not able to get on the board during their power play. The game ended pretty much the way it started, with the Blues on the penalty kill. Erik Johnson was called for his first NHL penalty with just over a minute left in the game. Ultimately the Blues were out-shot 38-12. That really is inexcusable. I think that the Blues were tired, playing 4 games in 6 nights.  They looked sluggish and were outplayed by a ton. They had no physical presence, which is exactly what they need when playing against the Red Wings. The Wings are a more talented and cohesive unit, but when teams, especially the Blues come at them with a physical, tough game, they can be beat.

The Blues resume action on Friday when they welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Hopefully they can start another winning streak.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 at 6:36 pm and is filed under Goalies, Johnson, Game Recaps, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.