The last time this happened, we saw a very unhappy Jaroslav Halak skate off to the locker room. Tonight, well, FoxSports Midwest was nice enough to not show it if it happened again – though no one could judge Halak if he was upset. He allowed one goal in the first two and a half minutes, and then was perfect through the rest of the game until Martin Erat’s top-shelf goal ended it in the shootout.
This is the second game in a row where the Blues have fired a cannonade on Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne. Tonight, the Blues scored once on 36 shots – to get past him they possibly literally would to have fired a cannonball at the net. When Rinne gets into the zone, there’s no scoring on him. Even the easy tap in goals seemed to just flat-out refuse to go in.
The Blues are just 1-for-17 on shootout attempts this season, and haven’t won in their last five. When you have a goalie finish a game with a .971 SV% and they lose, the blame’s on you, not on them. The Blues HAVE to learn how to score more during games – it’s not all the first line’s responsibility. Chris Stewart and Patrik Berglund are goal scorers too. It’s time to get them off of the sides of their respective milk cartons and back into the game.
Tomorrow night is a chance for the Blues to regain their lead on the Detroit Red Wings. Squandered opportunities won’t be tolerated by the coach anymore, if they even were to begin with.