Thank you, Toronto.
Almost two years ago, the Blues traded Lee Stempniak to the Maple Leafs for Carlo Colaiacovo and Alex Steen. Tonight in St. Louis, the duo hooked up on the game-winning overtime goal. Early in the extra period, Colaiacovo picked up Steen's rebound and buried a shot past Flyers' goalie Michael Leighton for the 2-1 Blues win, sending the packed house at Scottrade Center into a tizzy.
The Blues controlled most of the home opener and led for much of the game. Brad Boyes got the first goal of the season. After only netting 14 last year, after back-to-back 30-goal seasons, Boyes tipped an Erik Johnson slapper on the power play to give the Blues a 1-0 lead in the first.
The Flyers finally solved the Blues' new netminder, Jaroslav Halak, in the third period. But the 'Note were able to rebound and take the game to overtime. The Flyers' Daniel Briere hit the post early in overtime, but the Blues recovered and are now 1-0.
Thoughts after the jump.
Halak was as good as advertised. His calm, cool demeanor in the net is a joy to watch. He didn't flop, didn't scramble and just got in front of shots.
Alex Pietrangelo also was everywhere tonight. Dude wasn't afraid to work in deep and use his offensive skills and still managed to play sound defense. There's a reason the former No. 4 overall pick is still on the team and not in Peoria.
Speaking of Peoria, it looks like the Blues will have to make a call soon. In the second, Brad Winchester and Cam Janssen tried to check the same player. Instead, Winchester leveled Janssen and the Eureka native looked very, very concussed. For a guy who makes his living fighting, I don't think he'll be back for a while.
Davis Payne's team is now 1-0. They did blow a third-period lead, but they didn't get too down. Besides, it was just one goal. The Flyers' TV crew seemed impressed with the Blues energy and effort, and frankly, so was I. The 'Note came out hitting and skating from the opening shift and really looked like a team that wanted, and expected to win.
Still, it is just one game.