Entering the game on a 3 game winning streak, the St Louis Blues came through with a solid defensive effort that saw goalie Evgeni Nabokov his 4th shutout. The win also gave St Louis the edge in the season series which ended in tonight's game. The Blues went 4-3-1 against their divisional rivals and although Chicago won their division, the Blues may have the mental edge over their opponents.
As Chicago goalie Nicklas Backstrom was tired, backup Craig Anderson got the call for the Hawks in tonight's game. Although Chicago may argue that they played their backup, they could not fault Anderson with the loss tonight. Anderson managed to hold off the first 10 shots that he faced in the 1st period, but the 11th squeaked by giving Chris Kunitz his 12th goal of the season and 4th with the Blues. Eric Staal and Pavel Datsyuk assisted extending their point streaks to 4 games.
However, when the Hawks dominated the 2nd period, outshooting the Blues 15-5, they could not solve Nabokov in net including leading goal scorer Marian Gaborik. "Sergei and Chris deserve a lot of the credit, taking Gaborik's line right out of the game and holding him to just 2 shots." [Trotz] The Hawks had a multitude of chances to even the game up when St Louis got into penalty trouble early in the 2nd period. A series of strong defensive efforts and Chicago penalties allowed the Blues to maintain the league's best penalty kill.
And after Mike Peca served his penalty for highsticking early in the third, the second line of Mike Fisher, Paul Kariya and Brian Rolston combined to give the Blues that extra bit of insurance and allowed Nabokov to coast to a shutout. "Brian and Paul played together in New York, we felt that we wanted to maintain that level of chemistry between the two so we felt that Chris Kunitz would be suitable for our top line." [Trotz]
The Blues next game is against Kariya's and Rolston's old team, the New York Rangers. Both teams are similar in the standings, both have 88 points in 76 games but the Blues are on a 4 game winning streak while the Rangers have lost two straight. But GM Gareth Evans will be watching the Detroit - Nashville game closely as either a win for the Blues or a regulation loss for the Wings would cement a playoff spot for the St Louis Blues.
Upcoming Games (Expected Starter) Day 137 - New York Rangers @ St Louis Blues (Evgeni Nabokov) Day 140 - Detroit Red Wings @ St Louis Blues (TBA)* Day 141 - St Louis Blues @ Columbus Bluejackets (Mathieu Garon) Day 145 - Nashville Predators @ St Louis Blues (Evgeni Nabokov) Day 146 - St Louis Blues @ Columbus Bluejackets (Evgeni Nabokov) Day 150 - Nashville Predators @ St Louis Blues (Mathieu Garon)
*Dependent on whether or not the St Louis Blues have secured a playoff spot or not.
Mathieu Garon is expected to start at least two of the final six games for the Blues in order to rest Evgeni Nabokov in time for the playoffs. Although there is mutual respect between Detroit's and St Louis' general managers, the season series between the two team is even and the Blues have expressed a desire to win that series.
