Blues prove they can beat top teams on the road with win at Tampa Bay
The Blues made a convincing statement on the road against one of the NHL's top teams Thursday night.
Elite opponents away from home have been the Achilles' heel for St. Louis throughout this season, not to mention its past three playoff appearances. But the Blues turned the tables in a 6-3 rout, handing Eastern Conference-leader Tampa Bay just its seventh loss in 29 games at Amalie Arena.
It took a remarkable comeback to erase a three-goal deficit and win 6-4 at the New York Islanders in December, the only time the Blues had earned points in their first seven games against teams with 70 or more points. St. Louis dominated from the opening faceoff Thursday to earn its third straight win against the Lightning, the highest-scoring team in the league.
Coach Ken Hitchcock said Wednesday that the Blues would have to play much better than they did when goaltender Brian Elliott rescued them with 30 saves during a 2-1 overtime win over Tampa Bay in St. Louis. Elliott's teammates repaid the favor by turning in a dominant first-period performance and outshooting the Lightning 44-26.
Vladimir Tarasenko's nifty back-handed empty netter from the boards on the left side sealed St. Louis' sixth win in its past seven road games. But three of those came against opponents with losing records, and were preceded by a five-game road losing streak capped off by a 4-3 loss Jan. 2 at Anaheim.
Everything came together in Tampa Bay, including a power play that had converted just four of its past 35 chances. Dmitrij Jaskin scored less than 30 seconds into the first power play of the game to extend the Blues' lead to 2-0, and it took several great saves from Tampa Bay's Ben Bishop to kill off two other penalties with Jaden Schwartz in an unusual role as a fifth forward.
"I think he'll get a little more comfortable the more we play there, but tonight it was, I thought, a step in the right direction," forward Alexander Steen told FOX Sports Midwest announcers John Kelly and Darren Pang. "We had that goal and then I thought we were moving the puck around a lot better; especially our breakouts looked a lot cleaner tonight."
By contrast, the Blues went a combined one for 20 on the power play in five games at Anaheim, Chicago and Nashville this season, all of which were losses. Special teams can become even more important on the road, where it's tougher to gain momentum without the support of the home crowd.
While Thursday's win should provide a confident boost, it still doesn't answer questions about whether St. Louis can win on the road against the best in the Western Conference. The Blues are 0-5 against the top four and will have one last chance to earn points April 5 at Chicago, but the more important challenges will likely come later that month.
Watch the Blues Live pregame and postgame shows before and after every St. Louis Blues game on FOX Sports Midwest.
Even if St. Louis can find a way to catch Nashville atop the Central Division, the Blues likely won't go far without snapping an eight-game postseason road losing streak that dates back to a 2012 first-round win in San Jose.
STEEN LEADS PASSING CLINIC
The Blues shot well enough to get five pucks past St. Louis native and former Blues goaltender Bishop, but it was the passing that will get their goals on the highlight reel.
Steen got the show started early with a perfectly timed pass from the left side to T.J. Oshie, who flicked a shot from right in front over Bishop's glove and into the upper corner. A long pass through two defenders less than three minutes later found Jaskin just behind the blue line for a breakaway goal, his fourth in the past seven games.
"Honestly, it was a good jump from (Jaskin)," said Steen, who leads the league with 25 points since Jan. 1. "I feel like he read how split those D were and then by the time the pass gets there, they're squeezing it off a little bit, but the seam is a lot bigger than it looked on TV."
Steen added a goal of his own with a deflection in front of Bishop on a soft shot by David Backes, who robbed Steven Stamkos of the puck before delivering the easiest assist of the night. Oshie added some more flair on the eventual game-winner by going between his legs from behind the net to Backes for a one-timer to make it 4-1 in the second period.
When Steen, Backes and Oshie are as in sync as they've been for a majority of the past month and a half, these are the results.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
