Blues may have finally busted their slump; the proof lies in Glendale
The Blues have every right to feel pretty damn good about themselves for the San Jose game. Now it's time to focus and get back to work, though. With a mighty satisfying win fresh in their minds, and a relatively soft home stretch ahead of them, it'd be easy to lose track of the task at hand. Having lost 6 of the previous 7 games going into San Jose, you knew something had to give, and soon. And boy howdy, the floodgates popped open, and Our Blues pumped the Sharks for 7 goals in their home arena.
Now, it'd be real easy to pat them on the back, declare the losing streak dead, and expect everything to be peachy keen now. Everyone (save Chris Porter, of course) is healthy, the lines can settle into place again, the Blues were able to hold a lead, and even kept the shots-against down. Cherry on top - we won in California! How cool is that?
All that is very true, and should certainly be celebrated, BUT - this is the Blues we're talking about. We never, ever do nothing nice, and easy.
This is the second of three meetings against the Coyotes. We'll be hosting them again in February, and we played them once before, early in the season. Jaden Schwartz got his first career hat trick, part of a 6-1 win against Mike Smith and the desert dogs. The Blues were 4-for-4 on the power play, and Jake Allen got his first win of season, stopping 24 of 25 shots. If the Coyotes don't look back in anger at that game, then I'd be shocked. That has to fuel them tonight.
With that first game in mind, and coming off the big win in San Jose, this is the perfect scenario of a "trap" game. We cannot afford to take anything for granted. Feeling like you'll live forever is dangerous in this league.
The Coyotes are coming off a 6-3 win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday, including going 3-for-4 on the power play. In fact, they are 3rd in the Western Conference on the man-advantage, scoring 21.3% of the time. They've won 4 of their last 5 games. Despite their rotten record (15-19-4 overall, and 8-8-3 at home) and -32 goal differential, it would be a mistake to think these guys are toothless. They are certainly beatable, but they also pack a bite. They will not acquiesce and simply hand us the win.
The other half of that special teams battle may be important as well; the Yotes are the worst in the West on the PK, only stopping the other team from scoring 75.2% of the time. If the Blues power play unit takes the ice, don't go away: something good is probably about to happen.
Elliott's in goal for the Blues, and presumably Smith for the Coyotes (although not confirmed).
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Final Verse: Not quite as late a start tonight; the puck drops at 8:00 PM St Louis time, and the GDT should drop shortly beforehand. The TV broadcast will be on Fox Sports MW, and the radio call will be on KMOX 1120 AM. Tune in and join us, won't you? Here's a classic video, the reason why I'm using it today should be apparent in the first minute:
LGB!!!