Ken Hitchcock continues to improve the Blues’ special teams, and this period was a perfect example of that. With Vladimir Sobotka and Kevin Shattenkirk in the box, the Blues polished off a 4-on-3 against a very potent Tampa Bay offense. Tampa’s power play is ranked 13th in the league, but with the new and improved penalty kill, it was no problem for the Blues.

St. Louis had multiple close calls this period, starting off with an Alex Steen shot that rang off the crossbar and dropped for goaltender Mathieu Garon to cover. Matt D’Agostini also had a wide open net, but his shot was deflected off as he flew in to score. Luckily, the Blues’ new arrival from Columbus didn’t have that issue. Kris Russell fired off a slap shot that blew past Garon and the rest of the Tampa Bay team. Having that left handed offensive defenseman kind of helps out now, doesn’t it?