The St. Louis Blues are taking on the Winnipeg Jets in another battle against a central division opponent. The Blues have been the dominant force in the central this season. They currently hold a 19-0-2 when playing against their central division teams and they look to add to that number tonight.
St. Louis Blues Line Up
Alexander Steen - David Backes - Jaden Schwartz
Patrik Berglund - Vladimir Sobotka - Dmitrij Jaskin
Brendan Morrow - Derek Roy - Steve Ott
Chris Porter - Maxim Lapierre - Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietrangelo
Barret Jackman - Kevin Shattenkirk
Ian Cole - Roman Polak
Ryan Miller
The Blues line up will be looking a little different tonight, as they will be without Vladimir Tarasenko (out six weeks with a broken hand), and without T.J. Oshie (out day-to-day as a new father). Meaning we will likely see Derek Roy enter the line up again, and we'll be seeing Dmitrij Jaskin suit up as well.
Don't expect to see Jaskin getting a ton of ice time early, but he'll get an opportunity to play in an offensive role. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said today that Jaskin will be getting power-play time while he's on recall, and he'll get a big chance to impress with the loss of Tarasenko.
Another forward who's expected to get a boost in playing time with the loss of Tarasenko is Magnus Paajarvi. Paajarvi's play has picked up since the Olympic break. In seven games since returning from the Olympic break, he's notched two goals and two assists. In 44 games this season he's scored six goals and six assists. His play has vastly improved, he's shooting more, he's getting in on the forecheck while not sacrificing his defensive game.
Paajarvi is currently sidelined with an upper body injury, but is listed as day-to-day and is expected to return in the next few days. He'll have an added role offensively and has a chance show why he was drafted in 10th overall in the 2009 NHL entry draft. He's proven he has a NHL skill set when he put up 15 goals and 34 points in his rookie season.
Ryan Miller is expected to get the start tonight, and looks to build on his impressive start with the Blues. He currently boast a 7-0-1 with the Blues, including a goals against average of below 1.8 and a save percentage above .925. He's been a rock since joining the Blues and gets another start to add to his impressive totals.
The Jets are coming off an impressive 7-2 win over the Dallas Stars last night, and look to put the first regulation blemish on the Blues as a central division opponent.
Blake Wheeler, Brian Little, and Dustin Byfuglien are the top point producers for the Jets, all of which have broken the 50+ point mark. Wheeler leads the Jets with 23 goals and looks to add to that tonight.
I'll be doing things a little differently tonight, updating this post after every period. I'll be around all game long and will be chatting with you all during the game!
FIRST PERIOD UPDATE
The Blues and Jets end the first period scoreless with the Jets outshooting the Blues 7-6.
There wasn't a lot of play in the neutral zone, as the Blues played the majority of the first period in the Jets end. The Blues had put pucks on net, but with deflections wide, and blocked shots, they were only credited with six shots.
The Jets got some chances on net, but Ryan Miller stood tall and most of the action was one and done for the Jets. The best chance for the Jets was produced by Anthony Peluso, former Blues prospect, in front of the net. Ryan Miller got the paddle down and made the stop.
Derek Roy and Steve Ott were the two most noticeable forwards for the Blues in the first period. Both are skating hard and throwing pucks towards the net.
Alex Pietrangelo played like he usually does and was strong in all three zones.
Al Montoya was strong for the Jets in the first, and will need to have a strong game to keep the Jets in the game.
My "player of the period" goes out to Steve Ott. He's moving his feet well, playing physical, and throwing the puck on the net. Could be the night we see the first goal for Ott as a Blue.
Second Period Update
The Blues had a lot of jump early in the second period, and were outshooting the Jets 7-1, halfway through the first period.
The Blues got on the board first, as a nice give-and-go between Derek Roy and Brendan Morrow resulted in a Morrow goal to give the Blues a 1-0 lead. It was the first point for both Roy and Morrow in their last ten games, when they both had registered a point in a game against, you guessed it, the Jets.
The Jets pushed back in the second half of the second period and Ryan Miller was forced to make some BIG saves for the Blues to keep them in the lead. The Jets best chance came on a result of a bad line change by the Blues. It was Andrew Ladd with a clear shot that was stopped by the shoulder of Ryan Miller.
The Blues ended up out shooting the Jets 12-5 in the second period and the third line of Morrow, Roy, and Ott have been the best line for the Blues.
The fourth line has been very physical in the offensive and defensive zone. Chris Porter has been a wrecking ball and has been hitting everything in sight.
Dmitrij Jaskin has looked strong in the first two periods. Making simple plays, and has had a few decent scoring chances. Hasn't looked out of place for the Blues.
Third Period Wrap Up
The Jets wouldn't go away in the third period and Eric O'Dell would tie the game early in the third period.
That would be all Ryan Miller would allow past him in the game. It would then be the Blues captain, David Backes, carrying the Blues to the win with two goals in the third period, including an empty-net goal.
The main focus of the period actually happened after time expired. Dustin Byfuglien went after Barret Jackman. Roman Polak and Brian Little dropped the gloves as well. Then it was Ryan Reaves who spotted the ruckus in the Blues end and flew in to grab a hold of Byfuglien.
Lapierre grabbed a hold of Jokinen and put him on the ice, Reaves had a hold of Byfuglien but couldn't fully get free as he had Andrew Ladd in between the two. Jackman would drop the gloves and throw a handful of punches at Blake Wheeler who just held on to avoid further abuse.
As things were finally starting to break up, Ladd gave Porter a shot and Reaves came in again. The linesman pushed Reaves to the bench and eventually the brouhaha would end.
I can see Ryan Reaves and Dustin Byfuglien getting suspensions from the league after that fray.
Chris Porter actually scored a goal with a tenth of a second left in the game that was overlooked due to the ruckus at the other end of the ice. However they ruled that his goal would not count as the whistle had blown. Which is amazing because they should have dropped the puck on a faceoff because that meant time would have not expires. Regardless, the Blues earned the two points tonight.
The main point however, is the Blues have moved to 20-0-2 against central division teams and have broken the 100 plateau for just the sixth time in their history. It was a big game for both teams, but the Blues would pull it out and get the hard earned victory.
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