St. Louis Blues Morning Links: Blues Crowned By Kings
Good morning Blues fans. Last night was pretty tough all around. First, you had the awful late night west-coast game. Then you had the awful performance the Blues put in.
The St. Louis Blues are full of problems right now. For the second game in a row, they were victimized by their own mistakes and taken to task by their opponent.
The Blues are not a bad team. We keep telling ourselves that, but results are saying otherwise.
There are plenty of teams that are worse than St. Louis currently. That is not exactly the comfort we seek when things are going so wrong.
The problem with this team is everything is wrong. Goaltending is very poor right now.
Jake Allen cannot catch a break and he can’t seem to make his own luck either. He keeps having shots deflected by him by his own teammates, but then he can’t stop shots he needs to stop which compounds the issue.
Carter Hutton looked like more than an able replacement in net and as a backup earlier in the season. Now he seems to regularly let in the first shot he sees before settling into the game.
The Blues can’t or won’t shoot these days. Two days in a row saw single digit shot totals in multiple periods and the Blues only had eight through two periods against the Kings.
Vladimir Tarasenko was held shotless for consecutive games for the first time in his career. It may be a case of emulating what you see since effort usually is not a problem with 91. The last two games though, he has wanted to shoot through players instead of getting around them to unleash his shot.
The defending has just been bad all year long. That goes for forwards and defenders alike.
There are countless turnovers in key areas. The Blues are weak at the blue line. They won’t hit anyone or even body the player. It’s just a limp noodle slap with the stick and hope for the best.
The Blues may need some drastic change. As stated last night though, there isn’t guarantee that would change anything.
A player swap makes the most sense. The Blues might have played themselves out of any deals though since there isn’t anyone other than Tarasenko that other teams would be salivating over.
As fans, we just want to see something positive. If you are going to lose, at least look like you care or are trying.
For the first time all season, I actually missed David Backes and Troy Brouwer. I think their absence has been overblown, but at least you felt they would chew someone out for these sorts of games. You don’t get the feeling anyone is yelling at anybody in the locker room.
Sometimes the team needs someone to tear them a new one. Alex Pietrangelo is a good player and might be a good captain. He is not that guy, nor is Tarasenko or even Alexander Steen.
He might average the least minutes of the team, but perhaps Ryan Reaves needs to open up. His personality seems fit to get people talking at least. Something needs to be done.
Here are your St. Louis Blues Morning Links to get your day started off right.
Prior to the game against Los Angeles, the question was posed of what is wrong with Jake Allen. Neither the player nor the coach know right now, but clearly it is affecting him mentally as he showed frustration on the bench after being pulled again. (STLToday)
Despite all his problems, the fact remains that Allen is not nearly as bad as so many want to make out. He is going through a tough stretch, but fans just like to pick and choose when they apply certain arguments against a player. (Bleedin’ Blue)
Sticking with the goaltender theme, the recent woes out of the position are making people realize that the Blues worked so well with a tandem as opposed to a clear starter. That might make Carter Hutton expendable if the search for a deal includes a more stable backup to the Snake. (Fan Rag Sports)
Just as the Blues shot down my article about Allen being fine, they didn’t prove Dan O’Neil very right either. Despite their poor game, there is still reason for hope about this team, even if slim. (Blues)
The Blues know their task is not going to be easy in the second half of the season. Even if the team was playing well it would be difficult as the road is where the team will spend most of the rest of the year. (STLToday)
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The Blues efforts have been made worse by the play of teams around them. Minnesota put St. Louis even further in the rearview mirror with a glut of goals against one of the best netminders in the league. (ESPN)
Goaltenders face some of the most difficult situations of any players in professional sports. Backup goaltenders have it even stranger as they are some of the most loved and hated and have to keep sharp every night while not playing. (NHL)
Have a great day Blues fans!
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