The most underpaid player in hockey helps Blues even the score with the Avalanche

After Colorado’s dominant 3-2 overtime win over St. Louis in Game 1 of the second round, it looked like it might be yet another quick series for the Avalanche.

But on Thursday night, the Blues played to their identity and were rewarded with a 4-1 victory in Denver. With the series headed to St. Louis for Game 3, here are some observations.

St. Louis answered the bell.

Game 1 was bad all around for the Blues. About the only thing that went right was that St. Louis scored first, and Jordan Binnington willed his team into overtime. Blues coach Craig Berube lamented the lack of compete amongst his team.

Flip it to Thursday night, and from the opening faceoff, St. Louis looked completely different. The Blues had strong puck support all over the ice and outshot the Avalanche 14-8 in the opening frame.

One of the first things I noticed was how well St. Louis was able to break out of its own zone. The Blues were patient. They avoided long stretch passes in favor of short, quick movements up ice. And the defensemen led the way. Nick Leddy and Calle Rosen were especially noticeable on zone entries for St. Louis.

Without a strong start to Game 2, the Blues would have been in trouble. Instead, they came out with plenty of energy and were able to take the fight to the Avalanche.

Game 2 evened out after the first period, but the Blues’ start was key. St. Louis was able to possess the puck in the offensive zone and wear down the Avalanche. In a complete reversal of Game 1, The Blues made Colorado defend.

Both teams juggled lines throughout the game.

Berube threw a curveball by putting Pavel Buchnevich on the top line alongside Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron to start the game. That kicked Brandan Saad down to the third line with Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.

St. Louis mixed up the lines on several occasions – partly due to the lineup consisting of 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Vladimir Tarasenko moved around. Saad went back to the top line for a shift. But ultimately, Berube circled back to the lines he began the night with.

Midway through the game when Colorado needed an offensive spark, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar tried a similar tactic by reuniting the top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen. That dropped Valeri Nischushkin – who had been playing left wing on the top line – down the lineup. The adjustment didn’t pay off for Bednar. Colorado wasn’t able to score during even-strength play.

This is a series where the coaches have been highly engaged from a tactical standpoint. St. Louis hasn’t been shy to mix up lines. And the Blues played both games with seven defenseman. That requires considerable management.

I’ll admit it: I wasn’t sold that going 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Avalanche was a good idea. Colorado is so fast and willing to roll four lines. I had concerns that St. Louis’ forwards would run out of energy in the third period. That didn’t happen Thursday night.

Colorado was diligent about matching lines on home ice. It’ll be interesting to see if that aspect changes when the series moves to St. Louis for Game 3 and the Blues have the last change.

The Avalanche need more from Cale Makar.

I could wax poetic about him at length. But it boils down to this: Makar is the most offensively gifted defenseman I’ve had the pleasure of watching in person. He has so few off nights. And he’s electric with the puck.

But Makar has yet to break through in this series. And he was minus-2 during Thursday night’s matchup.

Makar has been able to get shots through. He put four on net in Game 1, and added another 5 in Game 2. He’s using his quickness to change angles and create lanes to the net. But Makar’s dynamic skating ability has yet to really show up in this series.

So I can’t help but wonder. What game will be Makar’s breakout performance against St. Louis? Because it’s going to happen at some point. Makar doesn’t stay off the scoresheet two games in a row very often.

David Perron might be the most underpaid player in hockey.

He’s scored seven goals so far in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, including two on Thursday night. Perron scored 27 goals in 67 games during the regular season. Yet the 33-year old winger only carries a cap hit of $4 million.

This is a guy you can bank on scoring 25 goals. Perron is good for 60 points a year. He’s a right-hand shot that’s capable of pounding pucks home on the power play. Yet he’s paid like an aging third-line forward.

I’m really curious to see what his next contract looks like. Perron’s best seasons have occurred recently during his 30s. I think he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. And he’s a clutch performer that isn’t afraid of the big stage.

I remember skating with Perron during his first training camp with St. Louis in 2007. He showed up with white skates that drove then-Blues coach Andy Murray crazy. And his confidence as a 19-year old was perceived by some as arrogance.

But what a player and teammate Perron has become. He’s been arguably the best St. Louis forward thus far against Colorado. I think Perron deserves a nice bump in pay this offseason.

Through two games, Jordan Binnington has outplayed Darcy Kuemper.

It wasn’t just Binnington’s 51-save performance in Game 1 that gave him the edge – he was also better in Game 2. I’m not saying Kuemper has been poor. He played well enough to get the win in Game 1. And Kuemper made some big stops in Game 2, including an incredible glove save on Saad just minutes into the second period.

But just being good isn’t enough for a team to win the Stanley Cup. I think back to Kuemper’s time in Arizona not long ago, and he was dominant. Teams feared him.

I don’t think St. Louis sees Kuemper has a threat to steal games. And that’s a narrative that needs to be flipped by the Avalanche netminder. Game 3 would be the perfect time for Kuemper to step up and put his personal stamp on the series.

Give the Blues all the ice packs.

St. Louis had 18 blocked shots, including three each by defensemen Robert Bortuzzo and Niko Mikkola. Colorado blocked five. It’s pretty obvious which team wanted it more on Thursday night.

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The most underpaid player in hockey helps Blues even the score with the Avalanche

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