There was much to be desired from the St. Louis Blues' post season elimination last year at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings. That made the start the Blues had on Thursday night against the Nashville Predators something inspiring as to what could come for the Blues this season.
It only took 2:05 in to the first period for the Blues to get the fans roaring at Scottrade Center as David Backes put in a shot passed big Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne. That was just the beginning of troubles for the goaltender who gave up 2 more goals in the first 10 minutes of the game from Vladimir Sobotka and T.J. Oshie , forcing Nashville coach Barry Trotz to replace him with backup goalie Carter Hutton. Mike Fisher would get Nashville on the board just after the 10 minute mark in the first period to leave the score 3-1 Blues after one period.
The second period was a much more paced period, and the Predators seemed to find their legs and put more pressure on the Blues. David Legwand pulled the Predators within a single goal at the 5:02 mark to put the score at 3-2. Alex Steen would get his first goal of the year at 11:16 of the second period on a powerplay goal that he tipped in a shot from Derek Roy at to give the Blues a 4-2 lead which would ultimately be all the Blues needed.
Halak helped maintain the lead for the Blues making 23 of 25 saves including shutting down 3 Nashville powerplays. He was strong in goal, and did not fall back in to his crease. He was aggressive and not afraid to challenge the Predator shooters.
The Blues looked solid in the opening period, not just on the offensive side of the puck, but in front of their own net. They quickly cleared out rebounds, and when there was traffic in front of the net, you could almost always count more Blues players than Nashville Predators. Nashville did not go lightly, and they seemed to have the Blues on their heels in the second, until the Blues got the power play goal from Alex Steen.
The Blues are a favorite to not just make the playoffs, but to possibly win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. They have one of the deepest rosters in their history, and really no weak points. The offseason did not bring an all-star goal scorer, but they did add Brendan Morrow and Derek Roy who can make things happen. The Blues are a team that spreads the scoring, and if they can do that throughout the season, then they won't necessarily need a high number goal scorer. There is no doubt that they are going to be one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL.
The tandem of Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak will also play a key role in the Blues success. If they can resume their stature of their Jennings award play from two seasons ago, then the Blues will be on par if not have the advantage in goal every single night.
After the realignment in the NHL this season, the Blues remain in the altered Central division which saw Colorado, Minnesota and Winnipeg join in, and in order to make the playoffs, you must be one of the top 3 teams in the division unless you win the wild card slot.
The Blues take on the Florida Panthers in their second game of the season on Saturday who also won their first game of the season 4-2 against the Dallas Stars. Game time is 7PM central time and can be seen in St. Louis on Fox Sports Midwest or heard on 1120KMOX.