The St. Louis Blues come to Vancouver on the heels of a Saturday night loss to the Edmonton Oilers, their fifth in a row. The Canucks just returned from Chicago after beating their nemesis in a crucial game. One team was hungry for a win, the other was perhaps a little too complacent.
The Blues were without a few of their top offensive players when they rolled into Vancouver desperate to reverse their fortunes. The gameplan: shut down the high-powered Canuck offense. The Blues followed their plan to a tee.
Limiting the Cancuks to just 23 shots, and only 2 to start the first three quarters of the third period, enabled the Blues to hang on to a tight lead provided by Alex Steen's second goal scored early in the final period. Steen was the best player last night on both teams, and Vancouver's inability to adjust and key on him lead to their demise.
For the Canucks, Alex Burrows needs to step it up. He only has 4 goals and 4 assists in 15 games played to this point. I know he's missed games early in the season due to injury, but 15 games is plenty of time to get in the groove. In order for the Canucks to be competitive down the stretch and into the playoffs, Burrows is going to have to be better on a nightly basis. Performances like last nights 1 shot, -2 in nearly 17 minutes of ice time just won't cut it. He's a good player who has been making huge improvements each successive year, but the Canucks cannot afford for him to continue to be average.
Next up for Vancouver is the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks are struggling right now, losing their last 2 games and going 3-6-1 in their last 10. Let's hope the Canucks don't repeat their lackluster performance against another team that's on the slide. Beating weaker and vulnerable opponenents will be key for the success of the team in the tough Western Conference.
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