GDT #40: 1/6/15 | 8:00PM CST | @ Coyotes | FSMW/KMOX

[dmiles2186]

After the Christmas break and the new year failed to provide a reprieve for the struggling St. Louis Blues, T.J. Oshie handled matters on his own.

Oshie and the Blues look to carry their momentum into Tuesday night's matchup with the Arizona Coyotes.

St. Louis (23-13-3) had lost six of seven, including five in a row on the road, prior to Sunday's 7-2 blowout victory in San Jose. Oshie recorded his second career hat trick to give him five goals in three games after scoring five in his first 28.

"He's been playing probably his best hockey the past six or seven games despite the fact that we haven't been as successful," defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. "He's been playing great. He's doing the right things. He's going into the hard areas. He has such a knack for finding the puck out of those scrums and around the net."

Oshie's re-emergence bodes well for the Blues, whose 2.95 goals per game rank near the top of the league. Vladimir Tarasenko is largely to credit, as the winger's 22 goals have propped up slowed production from David Backes, Alexander Steen and Paul Stastny - all of whom are on pace to fall short of their goal totals from last season.

Coach Ken Hitchcock hopes some of those offensive issues are in the rear view mirror after Steen had a goal and three assists while Stastny assisted on two scores Saturday.

"This was the reward," Hitchcock said. "We'd been playing pretty well for long stretches the last three or four games. This is the reward we got for doing it. We eliminated some of the big mistakes we'd been making that hurt us badly."

A similar effort from St. Louis could be in the cards as the Coyotes (15-19-4) tout one of the more dire goaltending situations in the NHL.

Devan Dubnyk lost 6-0 in Dallas on Wednesday in his most recent start, and Mike Smith's 3.46 goals-against average is the worst in the league among goalies with at least 20 starts.

Smith, however, recorded his first win in six appearances Saturday, stopping 23 shots to beat visiting Columbus 6-3.

"I felt good. I felt like I was prepared," Smith said. "Mentally I felt I was ready to get back in there."

Whoever gets the start will be tasked with stopping the league's most efficient power-play unit. St. Louis has scored on 24.4 percent of its chances and is 3 for 9 in the last two games.

The Blues took advantage of that strength in their previous matchup with Arizona, converting all four of their opportunities against Smith in a 6-1 road win Oct. 18. No team had posted a perfect power-play percentage with at least four power-play goals since San Jose on Oct. 6, 2009.

Arizona's penalty-kill unit ranks among the worst in the league at 75.2 percent.

St. Louis has outscored Arizona 23-8 in winning the last five road meetings.

Shane Doan has 49 points in 71 career matchups with the Blues but has failed to score in the past six meetings. Doan will likely face Brian Elliott, who has allowed five goals on 67 shots since returning from injury Dec. 30.

[gaijin]

Shane Doan is still alive?

Seriously guys, don't piss this one away. 2 points, please.

[ecbm]

Shane Doan is still alive?

Seriously guys, don't piss this one away. 2 points, please.

You beat me to it. And he's still 4 years younger than Brodeur!

...the Coyotes (15-19-4) tout one of the more dire goaltending situations in the NHL...

Sounds like they might be interested in a rental of the greatest goalie in league history for the low, low price of a pro-rated $700K and...a second round pick...

[glen a richter]

There's no worldly reason the Blues should lose this game. So they will, and we'll all be scratching our heads tomorrow, Nyghtewynd will be on suicide watch and JNE will be professing that we should all be Hawks fans because Kane is the second coming of Gretzky.

[cprice12]

There's no worldly reason the Blues should lose this game. So they will, and we'll all be scratching our heads tomorrow, Nyghtewynd will be on suicide watch and JNE will be professing that we should all be Hawks fans because Kane is the second coming of Gretzky.

I'll give you a reason. It's a road game.
Winning on the road in the NHL is never easy.

Arizona has won 4 out of 5, and 3 in a row at home.

They also recently beat Anaheim in Arizona in a shootout.

However....
Before winning 4 or their last 5, the Coyotes only had 3 wins in their previous 15 games. Two wins came against Edmonton and one was those was in OT. The other came against San Jose in a shootout. So before their recent 4 of 5 streak, they only had one regulation win in their previous 15 games and that was against the worst team in the NHL.

Ouch.

Yeah, we had better win tonight.

[flyingnote38]

Hitchcock said. "We eliminated some of the big mistakes we'd been making that hurt us badly."

Like dressing Lapierre?

...the Coyotes (15-19-4) tout one of the more dire goaltending situations in the NHL...

Sounds like they might be interested in a rental of the greatest goalie in league history for the low, low price of a pro-rated $700K and...a second round pick...

I was wondering if Brodeur would accept a demotion to the Wolves with a handshake that he'll be the back-up come playoff time.

[glen a richter]

...the Coyotes (15-19-4) tout one of the more dire goaltending situations in the NHL...

Sounds like they might be interested in a rental of the greatest goalie in league history for the low, low price of a pro-rated $700K and...a second round pick...

I was wondering if Brodeur would accept a demotion to the Wolves with a handshake that he'll be the back-up come playoff time.

To mentor Binnington or to take playing time away from Binnington? Not a bad arrangement if it's the former.

[ViPeRx007]

I was wondering if Brodeur would accept a demotion to the Wolves with a handshake that he'll be the back-up come playoff time.

Uhh....I doubt it.

[cardsfan04]

I was wondering if Brodeur would accept a demotion to the Wolves with a handshake that he'll be the back-up come playoff time.

Uhh....I doubt it.

Yeah, I don't see that happening either and I wouldn't hold it against him in the least. He's at the tail end of one of the best NHL careers any goalie has ever had. I don't see him wanting to play in the AHL.

[drwoland]

Blues 5
Yotes 0

Make a god damned statement.

[goon attack]

Blues 1
Yotes 9

[cprice12]

I was wondering if Brodeur would accept a demotion to the Wolves with a handshake that he'll be the back-up come playoff time.

Uhh....I doubt it.

I'm guessing he has a one way contract, meaning he can't be sent down without having to go through waivers.

[PGABluesFan]

Blues 5
Yotes 0

Make a god damned statement.

Will 6 - 0 be ok?

[flyingnote38]

I was wondering if Brodeur would accept a demotion to the Wolves with a handshake that he'll be the back-up come playoff time.

Uhh....I doubt it.

I'm guessing he has a one way contract, meaning he can't be sent down without having to go through waivers.

I'm certain he would have to clear waivers. I think he might clear.

The Yotes look ready for the McDavid sweepstakes. Smith has been pretty brutal this season.

[cardsfan04]

Better pull out the farmers almanac so we pick a nice day for the parade.

Backes is good.

[drwoland]

Blues 5
Yotes 0

Make a god damned statement.

I'll take it

[Kreegz2]

If Doan would've tried that slew foot 20 years ago he would have been mobbed by every blues player on the ice. It's pathetic that he just gets 2 mins for it instead of a trip to the hospital.

[ViPeRx007]

Just wait. Some people will still find a way to be negative about this.

"It was the Coyotes, we were supposed to win. Too bad they can't do this against LA/Chicago."

Try enjoying the moment for what it was. By all means though, if you want to keep basing your happiness on the future or keep reliving the past, go right ahead. I'll just tell you right now that you're never going to be happy. You'll forever be stuck in a "there's got to be something better" loop.

Think you'll be happy when the Blues win the cup? You will, but it will be very temporary because you'll quickly be worried about the next season. Take time to smell the roses...an old saying, perhaps, but it's an old saying for a reason. Life is unpredictable, enjoy things as they come, while you can.

Meh, do whatever you want. I get all philosophical after 2AM. SubconsciousViPeRx007...

[glen a richter]

To be fair, Viper, it was the Coyotes.

The bigger thing is scoring 7 against Saint Joseph and 6 against Arizona. Guys are getting in on the scoring and these last two games should be a confidence boost primarily for the offense, but for the whole team in general. When other guys get in on the scoring, the defense feels less pressure, evident in the decreased number of shots allowed the last 2 games, and the goaltending can play a more relaxed game. With the players on roster, there's no Earthly reason this team shouldn't be able to score at least 3 goals a night, and 3 goals a night should be enough to win most games. I, for one, was happy to see Oshie score 3 and Backes score 4 instead of Tarasenko score 7. It shows that the others have gotten their crap together and are taking their offensive responsibilities more seriously.

[ecbm]

Great result-yes, even against the Coyotes. More importantly the play looked good-guys were working hard on the boards and forwards weren't spending as little time as possible in their defensive end. Smoking the original Jets may not mean much really but the equivalent of that performance will give the Blues a chance to win against anyone.

Mike Smith positively sievelike. Tippett's honest comments about him after the game would have been: "What do you want? Dubnyk sucks too." Because he does. Honestly, I really might be interested in acquiring Brodeur if I'm them. At the level he's shown he'd be their starter and then the rest of their season becomes his farewell tour rather than just a dour spiral with McDavid at the bottom.