WASHINGTON — The shot counter at Capital One Arena moved slowly Thursday night.
During a 5-2 Blues loss to the Capitals in Washington, the numbers glacially drifted upwards to 20 shots for St. Louis. At 5 on 5, St. Louis managed just 11 shots on goal, a new season low. It attempted just 29 shots on Thursday, its second-fewest of the season. At one point, the Blues went 18:46 between shots on goal at even-strength.
“I think it wasn’t really what they were doing,†Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. “I don’t think we were very predictable in getting pucks underneath, things we talked about as a group, putting pucks to areas we can get to and sustaining o-zone pressure. That’s something that collectively as a group, they have to decide they want to do if we want to have success moving forward.â€
The loss was the third in a row for the Blues, the first time under Bannister the club has dropped three consecutive games. St. Louis only has one four-game losing streak this season, and it ended with Craig Berube’s dismissal as the Blues’ coach.
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Former Blue T.J. Oshie had a hat trick by scoring twice on the power play and once on an empty net. Former Capital Nathan Walker scored two goals for the Blues, both on deflections of point shots at the net-front.
The Blues power play went 0 for 5, while Washington was 2 for 4, which didn’t include a goal scored four seconds after a Capitals power play ended.
In scoring two goals, the Blues offense continued to struggle. They have not scored more than two goals at 5 on 5 since returning from the Christmas break. In 10 games, the Blues have cracked 30 shots on goal at 5 on 5 just once.
“Sometimes, I think we’re trying to do too much with the puck and we haven’t been scoring a lot of goals,†Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said. “Some guys are probably feeling it a little more and forcing it. It’s a tough give and take. When you’re not scoring, you try a little harder and you grip your stick. It’s a cliché, everyone says it, but you’re thinking about it a lot more and playing your game a little bit differently, a little bit slower.â€
Recently, the Blues leaned on their previously dormant power play to lead them to offense. But that well was dry on Thursday night. They had just seven shots on goal in 9:56 on the man-advantage.
“Power play as a whole, they have to be better,†Bannister said. “They have to execute. That’s plain and simple. It bled into the rest of our game, and didn’t give us any momentum at any time.â€
Bannister said “we lacked execution from our top players†both on the power play and on the penalty kill. The first Oshie goal stemmed from a neutral-zone turnover from Pavel Buchnevich, forcing Colton Parayko to defend Oshie 1 on 1. Oshie won a puck and beat Jordan Binnington on the glove side, and Bannister said the puck from Buchnevich “should have been iced, should never have even been back in our end.â€
One Capitals goal bounced off Faulk at the net-front and into the net. Oshie’s second came when he was left unbothered in the slot to finish a nice passing play. Dylan Strome cashed in on an Alex Ovechkin one-timer, and Oshie topped off his hat trick in the game’s final minute.
The Blues offense, meanwhile, stemmed from one man (Walker) and in one fashion (crashing the net to redirect a puck).
Across the last week, Bannister said repeatedly lamented two areas of the Blues’ game. There was the penchant for turnovers, poor decisions that led to chances for the other team. There was a lack of a forecheck that allowed opposing teams to play with the puck more and hem the Blues in their own zone.
Both issues were again present on Thursday night.
“I don’t think that’s the way we wanted to play the game,†Faulk said. “We played a little bit too much at the blue lines and maybe had a few turnovers at the offensive blue line. Just puck plays. Getting the puck below the goalline, making them grind and wearing them out.â€
Parayko: “This is just off the top of my head, but probably just getting into the zone quicker as a group. Putting pucks into areas we can get on to it quickly.â€
For the Blues, the good news is that they’ll have a shot at redemption when the Capitals visit St. Louis on Saturday night. Although not everyone in the organization sees it that way.
“I don’t know if it’s good or bad,†Bannister said. “For us, we have to be better in all situations. Doesn’t really matter who we play two days from now.â€