The goal looked wide open. Perhaps it was too wide open for the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup against the Los Angeles Kings.
The Blues took one on the chin, losing 3-1 in the Scottrade Center April 28. St. Louis gave up three unanswered goals, one in each period.
The trouble culminated in the end of the second period. Shortly after the Blues missed a shot on a wide open net, the King were whistled for a boarding penalty. Los Angeles won the ensuing faceoff and scored a shorthanded goal to go up 2-1 with just a minute left in the second stanza.
The Blues learned a valuable lesson. Against goalie Jonathan Quick, teams had better capitalize on their chances.
What was billed as a goaltending battle turned into a relative goal fest for the Kings. The three goals given up were indicative of early-season games against the Kings. The first two contests were 5-0 and 3-2 wins for Los Angeles. Both of those games were before December.
I'm still in disbelief at the wasted chances by St. Louis. There were three scoring opportunities in the first period that saw Quick bail out his teammates. Veteran Andy McDonald got off two shots in the first minute of the game. All he had to do was loft the puck over Quick's outstretched arm for a goal. The rebound shot was pushed aside by the goalie's legs.
B.J. Crombeen almost scored on a backhander that was kicked away by Quick with cat-like reflexes mid-way through the opening period. Crombeen simply had to shoot the puck a split second sooner to score before Quick closed in on the puck.
The score should have been 3-0 with eight minutes left in the first period. Instead, St. Louis was only up 1-0, which was not insurmountable.
The lack of scoring in situations such as those aforementioned chances haunted the Blues for much of the season. If head coach Ken Hitchcock hadn't preached defense all season, St. Louis wouldn't be in the playoffs. The Blues only gave up 155 goals, best in the NHL. Yet St. Louis only scored 206 goals, 21st in the league. Part of the problem is a lack of scoring. The Blues had 2,512 shots on goal which was 10th in the NHL. It's not like they weren't rushing the net. St. Louis simply didn't score as much .
Yes, defense wins championships. But missing key opportunities against a quality goaltender can destroy any playoff team trying to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Every game is a learning experience. Hitchcock is a good coach who has won a Stanley Cup before. He needs to get his team focused on Game 2 by instilling the fact that St. Louis can still create scoring opportunities. It's getting the puck into the net that has to improve immediately for the postseason to continue in St. Louis.
William Browning was born in St. Louis and has been a lifelong Blues fan.
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