First of all, I’m not going claim to be some kind of die-hard Blues fan. Once upon a time, I watched the Notes with regularity, but have never really gotten back into it fully since the 2004 lockout. I’ve followed them casually, but never watched more than a period of a live game in several years.
But as an avid supporter of St. Louis sports, I was excited to see the Blues get back into the playoffs after a nice little drought. Despite a disappointing loss in the series opener, I fully expected the Blues to even the score in Game 2.
Boy did they ever.
The home team outworked and out-slugged the Sharks with a resounding 3-0 victory Saturday night. Despite an injury to goaltender Jaroslav Halak, the Blues essentially whipped their opponents from start to finish and beyond.
When Sharks players became agitated at the Blues physical play at the end of the game, they decided to try to send a message with the standard woofing and pushing game. They wanted to intimidate the Blues and try to feel better about themselves despite being shutout. But fueled by the confidence of the dominant win and egged on by the home crowd, several St. Louis players took the physicality to another level with an impressive post-game pummeling of San Jose.
It seemed as if four or five separate fights broke out after the final buzzer and the Blues came out victorious in them all. Their opponents were just as sloppy with their fists as they were with their line play.
Now the Blues will head to San Jose with an air of confidence. Not only were they more physical than their opponents, when push turned to shove at the end of the game, the Blues ensemble came together to give the Sharks a smooth sampling of chin music that would ring in their ears the whole way back to Cali.
Tonight, the teams will lock up for Game 3. While both teams have publicly stated that winning is more important than duking it out, you’ve got to believe the embarrassing losses will be fresh in the minds of the home team, leaving them more likely to seek payback (giving the Blues more power play opportunities) or wilt if T.J. Oshie and Co. continue the physical play.
