Blues Owner Dave Checketts may need to think about signing Real Salt Lake leading scorer Robbie Findley to give the Blues the missing scoring punch they desperately need.
It’s completely unacceptable for the St. Louis Blues to be dead last in the NHL in goal scoring, dead last in the NHL in power play %, and 27th in the NHL is shots on goal.
The word of the day today is change.
It’s time we see some changes and it starts with the power play. NHL penalty kill units are too good when you demonstrate the same predictability virtually every night.
Look, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the players the Blues rely on to produce offense are letting the team down. Head Coach Andy Murray was quick to point the finger (without naming names) at several key players following Monday’s loss to Boston. We all know which players he’s referring too.
Has anyone noticed the Blues have gone away from the PP setup that made them team so successful a year ago?
Why?
Last season the Blues used what’s called an umbrella or a 1-3-1 with four forwards on the ice. This was when the Blues were at their best and had little problem directing pucks on net and generating quality chances.
When you watch the PP this season it looks unorganized, chaotic, and predictable. Guys are really having a hard time reading off one another and you can tell they have no clue what the person with the puck is about to do and where the support is coming from.
You can make the case it’s time for the Blues to slightly tweak the setup and the personnel.
It begins with the breakout which has four players already back in the defensive zone. You don’t need four players to break out of the zone when on the PP. This allows the opposition to clog up the neutral zone with four of their own players (like Boston did) which creates problems when attempting to enter the zone. You also don’t need one guy trying to go end to end and attempt to beat five players. That’s pretty hard to do in this league.
You watch the successful power plays around the league you usually see two or three players skating routes in the neutral zone to allow some movement and some speed once you gain the blue line. I’m not seeing this with the St. Louis Blues.
It’s no secret that the Blues better get this corrected and it needs to happen soon. This team could easily have an additional three or four victories on the year if they could score a PP goal every once in a while. It’s no secret when you check the box scores on a nightly basis that winning teams usually produce power play goals.
Andy Murray is absolutely right, the players are not getting the job done, which means it’s his job as the coach to make any adjustments necessary in an attempt to improve the overall struggles.
One area of concern has to be fact that the Blues don’t retrieve loose pucks. They’re too small up front with McDonald, Boyes, and Perron and need a player who can hunt down pucks and consistently win battles. This is where Oshie comes into play. He’s a retriever and needs to be back on the ice playing with the top PP unit.
Sometimes the best PP is one that simplifies their play. You don’t always need the big bomb up top to score on the PP but you do have to get pucks through traffic. Finding a lane and getting pucks through traffic is a skill and players like Erik Johnson will perfect this as he gains more experience.
Most goalies will tell you the hardest shot to stop is the one-time through traffic. You will often see Johnson switch sides when the Blues have a 5-3 man advantage to allow him to utilize the one timer. I was confused why Brad Boyes was playing the right point during a 5-3 a few nights ago? Having him on the right side completely takes away his ability to one time the puck. There are some that would like to see Johnson and Colaiacovo switch sides during a 5-4 to allow both D-men to use the one-time shot.
If it were up to me I would have Colaiacovo or Johnson up top, Oshie at the other point serving as a rover who can float around in the middle of the ice, Backes or Tkachuk in front of the net, with McDonald on the right wall, and Boyes on the left side.
The fact is you need two PP units who can put the puck in the net. Of course the players need to execute better but why on earth the team went away from what made them virtually a top 5 power play a year ago is a head scratcher. The second unit deserves as much criticism as the first power play.
Rink Rats!
Sources close to Bruins forward Marc Savard tell me they will give Boston until early December to get a contract extension completed.
Congrats to former Blues D-man Jamie Rivers who has signed a pro contract to play in the Swiss Elite League
I don’t understand why the NHL allows European players who are under 20 years of age to go directly from Europe to the AHL. They should have to either play in the NHL or play major junior.
In my opinion if a North American player is under 20 years old and plays in a minimum of ten NHL games he should be allowed to be sent to the minors to play. Once the clock on his entry level deal kicks in why shouldn’t he be allowed to play in the AHL?
Blues Clues!
Brett Hull is hand picking his all-time Blues team comprised of players he played with here in St. Louis. The Blues are trying to get each player he chooses on his team to be in attendance for Brett Hull night on December 15th. Curtis Joseph and Brendan Shanahan have been confirmed to attend the night. Can you guess who the other 19 players are?
The Midwest Sled Hockey League had some great games out at Lindenwood University Ice rink over the weekend. Many of the participants are war veterans. Check out some of these great photos.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0911/sled.hockey.usa.hockey/content.1.html
Expect Ty Conklin to get a start in net probably Wednesday in Dallas or Friday in Nashville.
The NHL shuts down business on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day which means the Blues will be flying into Minnesota on the morning of the game December 26th.
Brad Boyes had dinner with Bruins forwards Patrice Bergeron and Marco Sturm on Sunday night.
Former Blues third round pick James Livingston has missed several games with an increased heart rate. He has 18 points in 21 games for Sault ste. Marie in the OHL
Peoria forward Brett Sonne has been the top forward of all the young guys over this last recent stretch of games. Team is very happy with his play at both ends of the ice.
Bob Plager will join me tonight at Johnny Mac’s on Watson rd. from 6:00-7:00 for Blues Buzz on 590 The Fan in St. Louis.
My interview with Theo Fleury as well as past interviews can be heard on the Blues Buzz page on www.kfns.com
More to come,
Andy Strickland
[email protected] 
St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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