The Blues and Penguins, two teams in playoff position in their respective conferences, are both playing tonight like teams that want to win. That’s a great thing for the Blues, if they can keep it up past the first period. Last night against Detroit they played a solid and rough and tumble first period, and then the wheels came off the bus. So far tonight, they seem to be giving the Penguins as good as they’ve been getting.
Barret Jackman has been absolute gold defending against Evgeny Malkin and Pascal Dupuis, being able to mix up Malkin’s lethal positioning quite a few times. Roman Polak? Well, let’s just say he introduced himself to Richard Park:
Ow.
Silly penalties — or near penalties — seem to have continued from last game into this one. Vladimir Sobotka got a two minute roughing call for a quick punch in the face to Steve Sullivan, and Carlo Colaiacovo keeps feeding his fetish of clinging on people after hits that he dislikes. Tonight luckily he wasn’t called; a penalty against Pittsburgh like the one he took against the Red Wings at the end of the third period last night would be ill-advised.
The Blues are two for two on the penalty kill, and the shots are all knotted up at 12 a piece.