GDT #68: 3/14/15 | 7:00PM CST | v Wild | FSMW/KMOX

[dmiles2186]

WILD (37-24-7) at BLUES (43-19-5)

TV: FS-N, FS-MW

Season series: The St. Louis Blues defeated the Minnesota Wild in a shootout in the only game of the season thus far the Central Division rivals, who see each other twice more before the season ends. Vladimir Tarasenko scored in regulation and got the winner in the shootout. David Backes scored the tying goal in the third period for the Blues. Jake Allen made 36 saves didn't allow a goal in the shootout.

Wild team scope: Minnesota had won six of seven before losing 2-1 on home ice to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. It was the Wild's sixth straight home loss to the Ducks, each by one goal. Zach Parise scored his team-leading 27th goal in a losing effort. Goalie Devan Dubnyk started his 26th straight game for the Wild and could be spelled by either Niklas Backstrom or Darcy Kuemper on Saturday. Minnesota concluded its three-game homestand with a 1-2-0 record. It's a quick two-game trip for the Wild, which includes a visit to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Blues team scope: St. Louis held an optional skate Friday. Left wing Patrik Berglund was among the seven skaters after being a healthy scratch Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers. He is scheduled to play Saturday. Injured defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk (abdomen) and Zbynek Michalek (concussion) skated but are not ready to return to the lineup, although Michalek is close. Center Olli Jokinen (upper body) will not be ready to play and is day to day. The Blues have made up nine points on the Predators since Feb. 24 and are first in the Central Division; each team has 91 points, but the Blues have played two fewer games. "We've got to stay within ourselves, just play our game," right wing T.J. Oshie said. "Our main focus is to be playing our best hockey. If we're in first place and that's the way we do it, fine." Goalie Brian Elliott, who tied Jaroslav Halak for the most shutouts in franchise history with 20 after shutting out the Flyers 1-0 in a shootout on Thursday, will start again. The Blues are 9-0-3 at home against the Wild since their last regulation loss on Oct. 20, 2007.

Five of the St. Louis Blues' remaining 15 games come against two of the teams chasing them in the Central Division, so even a double-digit point lead over one of those teams isn't necessarily secure.

But the fact that three of those will be played against the Minnesota Wild should provide some comfort.

St. Louis will try for an 11th win in 12 games in the series Saturday night while also attempting to extend a run of home dominance over Minnesota that stretches back more than seven years.

The Blues (43-19-5) have won three straight and are tied with Nashville atop the Central with 91 points and two games in hand. Chicago, which plays St. Louis twice more, is five points back and Minnesota (37-24-7) is behind by 10.

The Blues haven't lost at home in regulation to the Wild since Oct. 20, 2007, going 9-0-3 since. Overall, they're on a 10-1-0 run in the series while allowing 1.55 goals per game.

Thursday's 1-0 shootout victory over Philadelphia set them up to complete a perfect three-game homestand before leaving for six on the road.

Nashville has lost seven of eight while St. Louis' 5-1-1 record since dropping three of four has put it back in the driver's seat.

"We went through the slump and (the Predators) kind of pulled away," right wing Ryan Reaves told the Blues' official website. "But I've been saying this all season, every team kind of goes through that. They're just going through it right now. It allowed us to catch up. We've just got to keep plugging away because you don't know what they're going to do over there."

That seven-game stretch has included a 21 of 22 penalty kill, and Brian Elliott's strong goaltending has also been a big part of it. He'll get a fifth straight start against the Wild after making 28 saves against the Flyers for his 20th shutout in his fourth season with St. Louis to match the franchise record.

Elliott shared the night with coach Ken Hitchcock, who became the fourth NHL coach to record 700 wins, joining Scotty Bowman, Al Arbour and current Chicago coach Joel Quenneville.

"Every day we play we're trying to become harder and harder to play against, and that's what was nice today," Hitchcock said. "We didn't give them very much. We were hard to play against, very determined on the puck.

"That's what we're trying to build here. That group, the way it's going to get built here, we're not going to be fun to play against if we play the right way."

Elliott is 5-1-0 with a 1.60 goals-against average over his last seven appearances, and he's been about as good against Minnesota with a career 6-0-0 record and 1.76 GAA in eight games.

He wasn't in goal for 3-2 shootout victory at Minnesota on Nov. 29 to open the season series, and counterpart Devan Dubnyk wasn't even with the Wild.

Dubnyk made his 26th straight start Friday in the Wild's 2-1 home loss to Anaheim, their second in three games after a five-game winning streak.

He's 19-5-2 with a 1.69 GAA since joining Minnesota, but now might be the time to give him a break. Dubnyk has dropped all seven career starts against St. Louis in regulation with a 4.72 GAA, though he hasn't faced the Blues in more than two years.

The Wild had averaged 3.14 goals over the preceding 6-1-0 span and weren't discouraged by the one-goal effort against the Ducks.

"We had a lot of looks there at the end, bouncing off bodies and going just wide," defenseman Ryan Suter said. "That's a good team."

[theohall]

Let's see if the Wild come out head hunting again and if the refs actually do anything about it. It's pretty clear the Wild were targeting heads of certain players in the Blues last two games against them.

Get out of this one healthy with a win.

LET'S GO BLUES!!!

[cprice12]

I didn't watch the Wild - Ducks game last night...but from the highlights, it looked like the Wild outplayed and outshot the Ducks, but they were stymied by goaltending.

[drwoland]

(Frank) crybaby Parise and the rest of em, Reaves and Bortuzzo better make their money today.

Blues 4
Wild 2

[cardsfan04]

(Frank) crybaby Parise and the rest of em, Reaves and Bortuzzo better make their money today.

Blues 4
Wild 2

I forgot about his whining. I'd love if somebody "bullied" him a bit today.

I did think that was one of the bigger compliments we got this year though, even though I don't think he really intended it as such.

[Toasted Oates]

[tweet][/tweet]

[cardsfan04]

[tweet][/tweet]

Good. I think we're going to like him a lot.

[Oaklandblue]

Figured I'd put something together and Jori's putting it right in the oven.

[gaijin]

2 points, please.

[drwoland]

Hitch is probably going to bench Vladi for like 4 games now (Andy Murray probably would have sent him to the AHL, waivers and all), but maybe it's time. A million shots wide and then a cut across his own net for NO reason, SO BLATANT that it fooled Michalek too.

Good thing I stayed in on a saturday to watch this game, otherwise I would have missed this turd of a 3rd period

[Oaklandblue]

42 shots - 1 goal <- There's the smoke.

Tank playing like shit <- A pretty good size fire on his own.

The team's playing systems hockey without any real...fire in them. I really think the TWO REVIEWS on one goal is what threw this one off-track, but saying that, the guys not stepping up and putting this one away is the bigger problem. Having trouble with adversity, are we?

[JesusNEVERexisted]

Why no post game show on KMOX tonight?

I've been watching hockey since a kid in the 80s and like Pantger said I've NEVER seen a goal fool EVERYONE including the refs that actually NEVER went in! That Berglund goal no goal is one for the record books!

[Oaklandblue]

Why no post game show on KMOX tonight?

I've been watching hockey since a kid in the 80s and like Pantger said I've NEVER seen a goal fool EVERYONE including the refs that actually NEVER went in! That Berglund goal no goal is one for the record books!

It's Bergytastic!

[Toasted Oates]

Hitch is probably going to bench Vladi for like 4 games now (Andy Murray probably would have sent him to the AHL, waivers and all), but maybe it's time. A million shots wide and then a cut across his own net for NO reason, SO BLATANT that it fooled Michalek too.

Good thing I stayed in on a saturday to watch this game, otherwise I would have missed this turd of a 3rd period

You grumbled about Hitchcock shuffling the lines in another thread and they proved you right tonight. Dubnyk is a hot goalie and played OK, but not many of those 40+ shots were glorious scoring opportunities. All the dusted off pucks and bonehead skates to the front of the net aside, get Steen back with his line. This team is at its best when 20-42-74 carries the mail. They didn't score in regulation last game and got a deflection tonight. Experiment over.

On a positive note, the defense is gonna look sweet when 22 comes back. They were solid again tonight and Gunnarsson is playing his best hockey at the right time. They may roll into the playoffs with the best corps of defensemen during Hitchcock's tenure.

Tomorrow is another day....

[drwoland]

Hitch is probably going to bench Vladi for like 4 games now (Andy Murray probably would have sent him to the AHL, waivers and all), but maybe it's time. A million shots wide and then a cut across his own net for NO reason, SO BLATANT that it fooled Michalek too.

Good thing I stayed in on a saturday to watch this game, otherwise I would have missed this turd of a 3rd period

You grumbled about Hitchcock shuffling the lines in another thread and they proved you right tonight. Dubnyk is a hot goalie and played OK, but not many of those 40+ shots were glorious scoring opportunities. All the dusted off pucks and bonehead skates to the front of the net aside, get Steen back with his line. This team is at its best when 20-42-74 carries the mail. They didn't score in regulation last game and got a deflection tonight. Experiment over.

On a positive note, the defense is gonna look sweet when 22 comes back. They were solid again tonight and Gunnarsson is playing his best hockey at the right time. They may roll into the playoffs with the best corps of defensemen during Hitchcock's tenure.

Tomorrow is another day....

Yup. Being better than the other team produces lots of "shots." True chemistry produces "goals." I really hope "hitch thought stastny and steen looked good in practice together this one time" doesn't result in another early exit. It's just so bloody (Franking) obvious. Maybe he just thinks it's garbage time of the season and is trying to build some alternative chemistry like someone suggested in another thread. But it is frustrating to watch.

[Oaklandblue]

Hitch is probably going to bench Vladi for like 4 games now (Andy Murray probably would have sent him to the AHL, waivers and all), but maybe it's time. A million shots wide and then a cut across his own net for NO reason, SO BLATANT that it fooled Michalek too.

Good thing I stayed in on a saturday to watch this game, otherwise I would have missed this turd of a 3rd period

You grumbled about Hitchcock shuffling the lines in another thread and they proved you right tonight. Dubnyk is a hot goalie and played OK, but not many of those 40+ shots were glorious scoring opportunities. All the dusted off pucks and bonehead skates to the front of the net aside, get Steen back with his line. This team is at its best when 20-42-74 carries the mail. They didn't score in regulation last game and got a deflection tonight. Experiment over.

On a positive note, the defense is gonna look sweet when 22 comes back. They were solid again tonight and Gunnarsson is playing his best hockey at the right time. They may roll into the playoffs with the best corps of defensemen during Hitchcock's tenure.

Tomorrow is another day....

Yup. Being better than the other team produces lots of "shots." True chemistry produces "goals." I really hope "hitch thought stastny and steen looked good in practice together this one time" doesn't result in another early exit. It's just so bloody (Franking) obvious. Maybe he just thinks it's garbage time of the season and is trying to build some alternative chemistry like someone suggested in another thread. But it is frustrating to watch.

Putting points on the board has been the bane of our existance, not spotty D. If Hitch continues this mixup line bs and it earns us a first-round exit, he'd better be gone next season. Right now, that's a bigger issue than anything else. Like the guy's got a love affair with putting Bergy on the top lines. Knock that shit off already.

[drwoland]

This team lead the league in goals for and goal differential not very long ago :/ like, literally 2-3 weeks ago.

[cardsfan04]

The Berglund review is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. It wasn't even really close to a high stick, but Dubnyk was beside himself after they allowed it. He might have been the only one that knew it didn't go in. I thought the place was going to go nuts over it (odd negative situation on St. Patty's Day, etc.), but it remained reasonably calm over it.

The embellishment call on Lehtera was bogus.

[dmiles2186]

The Berglund review is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. It wasn't even really close to a high stick, but Dubnyk was beside himself after they allowed it. He might have been the only one that knew it didn't go in. I thought the place was going to go nuts over it (odd negative situation on St. Patty's Day, etc.), but it remained reasonably calm over it.

The embellishment call on Lehtera was bogus.

I was there, sitting about 9 rows up on that end. I was completely fooled (I was off to the side). I swore it had gone in, so much so that when they allowed it, it just seemed like it was correct. I think most of us thought they were reviewing the high stick. Then I got a text from a buddy and it said, 'Didn't even go in.' So they show the replay again and we all saw it hit the outside. After that, I think most of us in my section were more puzzled how they botched the first review more than being upset that they disallowed it.

That said, Dubnyk was outstanding. No, there weren't too many dazzling saves, but he was calm, he controlled most of the rebounds, and he really just walled off the net. It just felt like the Blues weren't going to score. It seemed as the game wore on, from my vantage point at least, the Blues started to get too cutesy with things, instead of just throwing it on net and trying to create rebounds and chances, they tried to make the extra pass and just kept shooting themselves in the foot. 'Twas frustrating.

But the most frustrating thing of the night is at the end, down 2 goals, goalie pulled, and they're just passing the puck around like they're going for a stroll. No urgency. Yes, the chances of a comeback at that point were pretty slim, but point remains, they still had a chance and they just phoned it in.

[cardsfan04]

The Berglund review is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. It wasn't even really close to a high stick, but Dubnyk was beside himself after they allowed it. He might have been the only one that knew it didn't go in. I thought the place was going to go nuts over it (odd negative situation on St. Patty's Day, etc.), but it remained reasonably calm over it.

The embellishment call on Lehtera was bogus.

I was there, sitting about 9 rows up on that end. I was completely fooled (I was off to the side). I swore it had gone in, so much so that when they allowed it, it just seemed like it was correct. I think most of us thought they were reviewing the high stick. Then I got a text from a buddy and it said, 'Didn't even go in.' So they show the replay again and we all saw it hit the outside. After that, I think most of us in my section were more puzzled how they botched the first review more than being upset that they disallowed it.

That said, Dubnyk was outstanding. No, there weren't too many dazzling saves, but he was calm, he controlled most of the rebounds, and he really just walled off the net. It just felt like the Blues weren't going to score. It seemed as the game wore on, from my vantage point at least, the Blues started to get too cutesy with things, instead of just throwing it on net and trying to create rebounds and chances, they tried to make the extra pass and just kept shooting themselves in the foot. 'Twas frustrating.

But the most frustrating thing of the night is at the end, down 2 goals, goalie pulled, and they're just passing the puck around like they're going for a stroll. No urgency. Yes, the chances of a comeback at that point were pretty slim, but point remains, they still had a chance and they just phoned it in.

lol, that's almost exactly what happened to me. Before they announced no goal, my buddy texted me saying it hit the side of the net. I need to go find the replay of that. I still haven't seen it. It never even crossed my mind that it didn't go in.

Something similar happened a couple years ago. From my vantage point, I would have sworn until I was red in the face that I saw the puck go in the net. There was a replay that made it look that way too. But, it was some optical illusion. Wasn't quite to this extent where everybody thought it was in, but it took a review to overturn that one too.