Hockey fans singing the Blues

It's been awhile since I've posted. I've been busy with work but it's time to write again. A topic that is near and dear to me is the St. Louis Blues. The team got off to a great start. They were unbeaten at home until late November. They were beating teams like Chicago and Pittsburgh and energizing the Scottrade Center with physcial play and a scrappy style that was really connecting with the fans. However, over the last few weeks the team has headed downhill.

There is good and bad to see in the Blues' semi-demise. The bad thing is that the team has done it as a team. They are failing at just about every aspect of the game. They are not getting timely goals. They are not playing good defense and having solid marking in their zone. They are not getting the quality of goaltending they need on a consistant basis based on the rest of the team's play either. While this sounds quite horrifying to Blues fans, and it is discouraging, there is a bright side.

The silver lining is that their mistakes are not those of an absolutely bad team. Instead of having a team that absolutely can not score, Blues fans need to realize that their team is merely struggling. One good streak can turn it all around. Instead of having a horrendous defensive team, the Blues merely need to clean up some mistakes that will come with the youth of players like Erik Johnson, Alex Pietrangelo and the other young core. Instead of having goaltenders who were shaky at best or ran hot and cold period to period, the Blues' goaltending is merely going through a streak of bad luck. The bottom line is all of this is correctable. Hope is not lost.

From my own perspective, as a fan who bleeds blue, the disappointing thing is that two players have taken the scoring with them as they headed to the Injured Reserve list. David Perron and T.J. Oshie are highly talented players, with great motivation to play hard just about every shift. They are deserving of being fan favorites due to their skill and heart. Yet, there is other talent on this team. It was known heading into the season that this would not be an offensive juggernaut, but not only has the scoring lagged without these two stars, the offensive style itself has hit a standstill. Repeatedly during broadcasts and postgame comments we are told that coach Davis Payne is telling his team to get to the middle and take shots from high percentage scoring areas. However, the Blues seem tentative and indecisive. Trying to cycle around too much. Waiting too many extra seconds to make that pass that could have led to a scoring opportunity and instead getting intercepted or passing to a covered man.

There is still hope. A couple days off now gives the Blues some needed practice time. This team has to gel at the core so that when players come up from the Perioa Rivermen, it is easier to integrate them into a whole as opposed to another piece of an unfinished puzzle. Much of sports boils down to talent and luck. The Blues are not untalented and have hit a rough patch of luck. Much like their baseball counterparts, the Cardinals, the Blues have not found the complete package that they had early in the year. They may score, but not get good D or goaltending. They might play better on the backside but get shutout or only score one. But in the end, anyone willing to blame Jaroslav Halak is a fool.

No, Halak has not played up to his capabilities, but he is a solid goaltender that will back this team when they need it the most. Every netminder hits a patch where the goals just seem to slip through that crack that you thought was well covered. But the quality ones rebound. Halak will do so. He is only in his mid twenties. There are still tweaks to be made to Halak's game. Heck, even superstars like Brodeur and Roy needed coaching from time to time. The biggest difference, I feel, from this goalie to the previous problems the Blues have had is this. In the past the Blues goaltending has cost them victories. Right now, Halak and to an extent Conklin, simply aren't winning the games for St. Louis. That is what they must do. Until the time comes when Perron and Polak return, Halak must start to win games for this team. He is more than capable of that. He led a Montreal team through the playoffs when they probably should have been swept in the first round if you look solely at the talent.

What the Blues need right now is a win. Not even a streak. Just a win. Much the same way that the long win streak and good start at the beginning of the year gave them a cushion for when the tough times came, the Blues need a few W's so that they do not dig themselves a hole that would need a gigantic run back to the playoffs. Nevertheless, I still see hope. I believe in this team. Pieces still need to be added in the years to come, but they have the core of a good team. Take heart St. Louis fans. The clouds in the sky are only the changing weather and not the precursor of doom for this hockey season.

Random Thoughts

- I was very disappointed in the NHL Network crew on their NHL On The Fly show following David Perron's concussion. While they changed their tune later, it was ridiculous that they accused Perron of faking the injury to get a longer powerplay. Clearly they are eating their words now as David has not played since that game.

- In addition to my disappointment that a country smaller than Connecticut won the 2022 World Cup instead of the U.S., I was quite taken aback by P.T.I.'s discussion of the matter. Mr. Kornheiser and Wilbon argued that it is no big deal that America did not get awarded the World Cup because soccer is "a distant 5th place" in terms of interest in this country. Not only does this argument come from old men who still emrace dead sports such as horse racing and boxing, but it is as foolish as someone making the argument that the U.S. should not care to ever host an Olympics again because sports like figure skating or swimming aren't the number one sports here either. The '94 World Cup was a spectacular event. If they would have gotten their heads out of a certain dark and perhaps smelly place, perhaps they could have taken notice.

- Just a random thought from the fan side of me...I hope Oklahoma crushes Nebraska in the Big 12 championship. I have no love for the Sooners, but to send the arrogant 'Husker fans to the Big 10 licking their wounds would be justice in my opinion. The only thing worse than the Cornhuskers winning in their final season would be Mizzou winning it ever.

- Not a big fan of the NAHL scheduling. As a broadcaster, it is hard to keep a flow going when there are long gaps between home games and such a gap is approaching. The games I call this weekend will be the final ones until January 7th I believe. A month of doing nothing stinks. At least there will be good company for Christmas as I will spend it with my girlfriend and family.

Hopefully this will not be the last post that I write before the holidays, as I would like to get back into the habit of writting. But if it is, then I wish you all a very safe holiday season, a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. And as always remember that it may just be an opinion...but I'm right.