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They’ve got two games left to get it going.
Leading
the Detroit Red Wings by two with just over six minutes left Wednesday
night, the Blues gave up two late goals and lost 3-2 in a shootout,
suffering a tough blow to their hopes of finishing in the conference’s
top spot.
“We got a little too comfortable,” defenseman Carlo
Colaiacovo said. “That’s very uncharacteristic of us. Usually when we
get a goal or a couple-goal lead, we finish the job. It’s just a tough
one to swallow. We have to learn from it.”
The Blues have been
nearly unbeatable at home this season. And when they responded to a
questionable five-minute major that went against them by scoring two
quick goals, they looked to have a franchise-record 31st home win in the
bag.
But in a three-minute span that the Blues can only hope
eventually turns into a positive, the Red Wings responded with two quick
goals to tie the game. Had it not been for a great pad save from goalie
Brian Elliott a minute later, the Blues could have lost in regulation.
So
a game the Blues should have won went to a shootout, where they
suffered their seventh 1-0 loss in 10 shootout losses. They dropped to
4-10 overall in the shootouts, a stat that thankfully won’t matter come
playoff time.
But the missed opportunities still could haunt the
Blues come playoff time. If they don’t finish above Vancouver for the
top spot in the West, the Blues will have to play the extra game on the
road should the two meet in the conference finals.
The Blues
trail the Canucks by two points with two games to play, but do hold the
tiebreaker. With how well the Blues play at home, passing the Canucks
and finishing atop the conference would be a big bonus entering the
postseason.
And they could have had a big extra point Wednesday
had they not suffered the late collapse, something the Blues hope to use
as a learning tool as they prepare for the playoffs.
“We’ve got
to sharpen up and make sure to play a 60-minute game,” forward T.J.
Oshie said. “Our No. 1 concern is playing our best hockey going into the
playoffs. We have to stay on it. There’s going to be games like this.
That was as close to a playoff atmosphere as we’ve had and we have to
learn to play a full game without any hiccups.”
Elliott did all
he could in goal, falling just six minutes shy of his fourth consecutive
shutout. The scoreless streak officially ended at 241:33 after he went
more than 11 periods without allowing a goal.
Owners of the best
home record in the league, the Blues now have lost back-to-back games
at Scottrade Center for the first time this season. They have just one
home game left, Friday night with Phoenix.
After taking over the
league’s top spot by winning nine of 10 games in late February and
early March, the Blues now have just three regulation wins in their past
10 games. They are 3-3-4 during the stretch.
Looking for their
first playoff win since 2004, the Blues hope to enter the postseason
with a positive vibe. So with just two regular-season games left, coach
Ken Hitchcock decided to take the blame for Wednesday’s loss.
Wanting
to keep his players thinking as positively as possible, Hitchcock took
the blame for a bad line change that led to the game-tying goal. He then
put a positive spin on what looked like a devastating loss instead of
ripping into his players and making things worse.
“We played
very, very well and did a lot of good things,” Hitchcock said. “We have
to be happy with it. I’m disappointed more in myself. I don’t make that
mistake that late in the game very often, but I made the mistake, so I’m
more disappointed in myself than anything.
“We did a lot of
good things. We played exactly the way we have to play to win hockey
games, but made a couple of defensive errors, we didn’t protect the puck
at the right time, but overall there’s a lot of good things to build
on.”
The Blues have aspirations of winning their first Stanley Cup. And they’ve got two games left to get things back into gear.
