Can the Blues just play their home games on the road?

(take two – for those that missed my Twitter freak-out earlier, Wordpress and I have a diference of opinion on the concept of “auto save”)

There are a few things to be happy about this season.  The penalty kill is 4th in the league, killing off 86.2% of penalties.  The Blues’ road record of 11-4-3 is the best in the league, hands down.  The kids on the team are starting to shake off their cases of the yips (or shove cotton in their ears), and are producing – Berglund has scored goals in 3 of his last 4 games.

And then the Blues come home.

St. Louis began a four game homestand last night with a 5-3 loss to the Sabres, who haven’t won in St. Louis since October 1st, 1997.  So very glad that we could feel sorry for them and the cast-offs from the Blues’ system who currently play for Buffalo and give up that 3-2 lead that we had coming into the 3rd period.  Yes, for the second game in a row, the Blues gave up three 3rd period goals.  The frustrating thing is, the effort was there.  The Blues outshot the Sabres that period 14 to 6.  They showed pressure, but the things that have been working so well on the road just can’t seem to get going at home.

The powerplay that went three for four in Edmonton decided to be so terrible that not only did it score a goal, it was responsible for a Buffalo SHG.  On top of the defensive fudge up and turnover, Paul Kariya is now listed as DTD thanks to an elbow to the head from Patrick Kaleta.  The powerplay’s improved, going from last in the league to 25th (yay), but just because we managed to rattle off three goals against a team that’s struggling doesn’t mean those issues are over.

Andy Murray noticed the effort too:

To be honest, I don’t think it was effort related (Sunday),” Murray said. “I think it was some poor execution. Some nights, I think you question effort. But tonight, it was more a case of poor execution.”

Despite the complaints in the comment section that what Murray said were the “words of a loser,” Murray was spot on.  Boyes got some good shots on goal towards the end, including one at a wide open net to tie it – but couldn’t convert.  Conklin squirted one of the goals into the net on his own.  All of this added up to the 14th loss of the year at home for the Blues, and I’m fairly sure the 19,150 fans in attendance really appreciated the effort… until the Blues lost.

Keep the effort going.  Capitalize on that effort.  If all else fails, figure out what Alex Steen ate for breakfast Sunday.  Steen showed outstanding effort during the game, and managed to capitalize on it with his second two-goal game of the season.  The effort is good.  The consistency, not so much.  Murray doesn’t need to motivate the team to play better, he needs to motivate them to focus on what they know they can do.  They have to do something, because I’m pretty sure they’re not offering road season ticket packages this year.  File that one away in the idea box for next season.

Some Other Articles That You May Enjoy:
Canucks off to a strong start, but it’s off to St. Louis
Blues Schooling Opponents En Route to Playoffs
The Real Home Opener is Here.
St Louis Blues
Blues are pushing for a turn-around.
Traverse City is Wrapping Up.

We hope you enjoyed this post. As always, leaving a comment below is both appreciated and encouraged. Thanks!