Yes that’s right, the wait is finally over. Camps have begun for every NHL team and preseason hockey rolled in Sunday with two games. The St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets opened the NHL preseason schedule with a pair of games only hours apart from each other. For each side there was a different takeaway at the conclusion of the weekend.
St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets Sunday Split Squad Recap
Game One
Game one was a prime example of one team stacking the deck. The Blues playing their first game at home made sure the lineup was filled with veterans. Even with the team missing the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo, and Jay Bouwmeester, the Blues, had the edge. But often in preseason, the players who shine are the ones many don’t expect. Kenny Agostino was that player for the Blues today. After being picked up by the Blues back in July, he made everyone take notice with a five-point day. The 24-year old who at this point had just played 10 NHL games, had quite the productive season in the AHL last year. In 65 games with the Stockton Heat, he put up 23 goals and 57 points.
Samuel Blais
Another Blues player who stood out was prospect Samuel Blais, a four-point day for the 20-year-old who had a beauty of a goal in the third period. The heavily talked about Kevin Shattenkirk was already in midseason form, putting in two goals and adding a helper. When it came to goaltending Jake Allen not unlike to the upcoming regular season, made the start. Carter Hutton came in relief for the third period but only faced two shots the entire 20 minutes. To say he was not tested often is an understatement.
KENNY AGOSTINO. Another assist gives him a five-point day for the #stlblues (2G, 3A).
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) September 25, 2016
As well as the game one went for St. Louis, it wasn’t very pretty for the Blue Jackets. Signs of preseason rust showed and only the likes of Scott Hartnell and Sam Gagner could only help them stay afloat. If age was supposed to slow Hartnell down, he sure didn’t show it. Not the fastest skater but his line along with Gagner and Cam Atkinson were the lone threat for the Jackets. Creating chances every time the pair was one the ice both players had three points on the day. One line can carry a team some games this wasn’t the case today. An interesting side note for the Blue Jackets though was the pro debut of Jeremy Brodeur, the son of legendary Martin Brodeur. After Joonas Korpisalo was “chased” out of the net in the third, Brodeur played the final 10 minutes of the game making eight saves.
The first game wrapped up with a 7-3 score line in favor of the Blues.
Game Two
Game two rolled on in the night and despite two different lineups, not much changed from the previous contest. Not a ton of stock can be put into teams first few preseason games but for one side, the bad luck continued.
The Columbus Blue Jackets put out a much stronger lineup from the game earlier today featuring the likes of Nick Foligno, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Boone Jenner. But despite a lineup that would seem to bring offense, things just never seemed to pan out for the Jackets. A mixture of strong goaltending and missed opportunities lead to a night of frustration for the Jackets. The prospect to watch Dubois had a somewhat quiet game tonight, much like the rest of his teammates.
Showcasing Depth
Switching to the Blues lineup and performance in the second encounter was very much a bunch that needed to make themselves known. Familiar faces including Ty Rattie and Magnus Paajarvi. A good mix of players who are either staples of the Chicago Wolves in the AHL or trying to push themselves into an NHL squad.
Top defensive prospect Jordan Schmaltz once again proved that he is ready for the big stage. It may be the result of sheer numbers that will keep him out of the lineup, for now. Playing a total of 21 minutes, just behind Carl Gunnarsson in time on ice for defensemen. Schmaltz is an example of the Blues depth on the back-end, part of the reason why the likes of Kevin Shattenkirk trade rumors won’t go away. Jordan Binnington and Pheonix Copley split the time in net and not unlike last season in the AHL; they were identical. Copley with 11 saves and Binnington had 12. When the final buzzer sounded, the final score was 5-0 Blues.
Perhaps a change from the first game was the physical play. Both games featured hits of course but the second game of the day was almost a homage to preseason games of the past when they used to get out of hand quite often.
always wear a helmet pic.twitter.com/oii6cVFBLY
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) September 25, 2016
Last Word On The Games
So what are the takeaways from the two games?
You can’t say too much at such an early stage of preseason hockey. Only days into camp, the games have to be taken with a grain of salt. For the Jackets side of things, tomorrow is a new day. In fact, they play again Monday night against the Boston Bruins. When it comes to the Blues, the youth planted another seed when it comes reassuring everyone the turnover won’t be too bumpy of a ride. The Blues also play Monday night against a central division rival in the Dallas Stars.
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