The St. Louis Blues went to a second consecutive shootout to open the season, this time fetching the bonus point for a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken.
There was a concerning cost, however. Pavel Buchnevich left the game in the first and did not return after taking a sketchy hit from Jamie Oleksiak behind the net. Buchnevich stirs so much for the Blues, and his injury absences last season were a big domino in their season falling apart. Hopefully this is a short-term ouch.
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- The Kraken had the better of play early on, a disappointing start for the Blues’ home opener. But in contrast to the flow of things in the season opener in Dallas, the Blues got better as the game went on.
- Though ex-Blue Jaden Schwartz finally got the Kraken on the board early in the second, the Blues stuck with it and got a well-deserved tying goal from Jordan Kyrou on a smooth give-and-go rush with Robert Thomas.
- Still, the Blues again needed some Grade A saves from Jordan Binnington, who turned in his second consecutive outstanding start to open the season. He was great in the shootout too, making some nice stretches and patient saves.
- The Seattle defensive approach was kind of a model for what the Blues are trying to evolve (or return, really) to: Clogging the middle, protecting the house, keeping things to the outside. It was tough going for the first half of the game, but eventually the Blues were able to find some seams and crack the Kraken (sorry) open a bit.
- Still, a tie was a fair result. Oh, wait, about that…
Overtime Continues to Suck
The overtime was a snoozer, as so many are while the 3-on-3 format continues to devolve with each passing season. Seattle had possession to start and generally kept it for the first two minutes, trying to stretch the Blues out and keep them from changing. Hip to that game, the Blues stayed patient and conserved energy in defense.
I’ve seen so many OTs now where the team who wins the opening faceoff hangs on to the puck for three minutes, waiting for a break, then maybe the last 90 seconds have some events.
The result is the world’s driest half-court shootaround, with no shots. My god, if only this country could accept ties.