Originally published February 9, 2010 at 5:37 a.m., updated February 9, 2010 at 5:37 a.m.
DENVER -- It’s still way too cold outside for an NHL team to be playing for its playoff life, but that’s what the St. Louis Blues are doing. They didn’t do themselves any favors on a chilly Monday night in the Mile High City.
The Blues, a strong enemy-arena team and a lousy one at home for much of the season, reversed that trend and absorbed a series of body blows from the Colorado Avalanche during a telling second-period stretch at the Pepsi Center.
Colorado’s 5-2 victory lowered the Blues’ record to an even 25-25-9, and if coach Davis Payne’s guys don’t produce some points soon to move up in the Western Conference standings, they will be slogging through the last couple of months competing solely for that ever-nebulous quality of pride.
“We knew we had to elevate our play, but (the Avalanche) elevated it better than we did,’’ said Payne, who mercifully pulled starting goaltender Chris Mason not even midway through an ignominious second period. “You have to be better in your own end against a good, talented team like that.’’
The three Colorado second-period goals came in rapid succession, the Avalanche getting scores from Chris Stewart, U.S. Olympian Paul Stastny and Brandon Yip in a span of just over four minutes. There are few NHL teams with the kind of firepower to rebound from a three-goal deficit, and the Blues most definitely aren’t one of them.
Mason, pulled for only the second time this season, blamed himself. But his defensemen and forwards were equally culpable.
“We just let it get out of hand early in that second period,’’ Mason said. “It was a combination of some giveaways and me not making the saves for the guys. We’re letting (the playoff chances) slip away, and it’s not very pleasant.’’
Backup goaltender Ty Conklin took over after Yip’s second goal of the game, which came 6:34 into the second period. Conklin didn’t see much action as the Avalanche adopted a defensive posture the rest of the way. The Blues actually out-shot Colorado for the game, 34-33, but that’s misleading. When it still counted, the Avalanche was the aggressor and the Blues were sloppy.
It was a wide-open, free-flowing contest early as a flurry of scoring produced a 2-2 tie at the first intermission. After the Blues got on the board first on a nice wrist shot from just inside the blue line by defenseman Eric Brewer three minutes in, Colorado evened it quickly with a goal by T.J. Galiardi that beat Mason on the glove side.
The Blues regained the lead when Erik Johnson beat Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson from the right circle after a nice pass from Alexander Steen at 7:59. Colorado tied it at two on a Yip goal at 16:42.
But the pivotal second period belonged entirely to Colorado. The three rat-a-tat-tat goals spelled the end of the night for Mason. It was that kind of night for the Blues. Early promise turned to mid-game disappointment.
A would-be goal by T.J. Oshie midway through the second period was disallowed when he was whistled for hooking on the play. It was a typically disappointing sequence in a typically disappointing game for the Blues. Things didn’t get any better for St. Louis as Colorado continued to solidify its own playoff status.
“We came out flying in the second period,'' said Colorado’s Stewart, who tied his career high with three points. “That’s the kind of hockey you want to play at home.’’
The Avalanche, one of the youngest teams in the NHL, is in the process of recovering from a rough spell after a strong start. Colorado was the vastly superior skating team Monday night, and Mason during his abbreviated stint was no match for Anderson.
The Blues’ problems were different from the ones that plagued them in recent losses to San Jose and Chicago. In those games, St. Louis had plenty of opportunities to score but couldn’t find the net. In this one, Mason and his defensemen were the culprits as Colorado played the aggressor and produced scads of scoring opportunities through the early minutes of the second period.
So the Blues continue to move perilously off the playoff bubble whenever they face teams in the Western Conference postseason mix.
“We had some missed reads and some missed assignments, and it’s frustrating,’’ Payne said. “We had a few guys out there playing with passion, but not enough.’’
NOTES: The Blues have a quick turnaround, starting a three-game homestand Tuesday night against Detroit. They then face Toronto and Washington at the Scottrade Center on Friday and Saturday. After the break for the Vancouver Olympics, St. Louis resumes play with six consecutive road games . . . Scratches for the Blues were forwards Brad Winchester and Cam Janssen and defenseman Mike Weaver . . . The Blues came into Monday night only 2-of-12 on the power play in their last two games and produced just three goals on 72 total shots on net in the losses against San Jose and Chicago. They went 0-for-2 on power-play chances against Colorado . . . There were plenty of empty seats in the Pepsi Center as many fans decided to stay home, park themselves on the couch and watch on TV rather than brave the near-zero temperatures and slick roads. Denver hasn’t been hit by the huge storm that pounded the East Coast over the weekend, but frigid temperatures and steady light snow the past two days nonetheless have made the roads in the area treacherous.
Comments
phdsvp (anonymous) says...
Season's over. Time for the fire sale.
February 9, 2010 at 9:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )