St. Louis Blues vs. Detroit Red Wings Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 23rd 2024
Preview and Prediction
The St. Louis Blues already made a coaching change this season. Could the Detroit Red Wings, their opponent on Monday, do the same in the coming days?
The Red Wings have the second-fewest points in the Eastern Conference (30), and there's speculation that Derek Lalonde's job could be in danger. They were passed in the standings by Montreal (31 points) after losing to the Canadiens in back-to-back nights over the weekend.
Lalonde told the Detroit Free Press that he tries to block out the noise.
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"I think it's the reality of our profession," Lalonde said. "It really doesn't bother me. I think 27 coaches have been fired in the last year and a half. You literally just don't think about it. I know it sounds like a cliche? but it's real. You stay in the moment and you worry about Monday."
On Friday, the Red Wings took a 3-2 lead early in the third period, but Montreal rallied with two goals. The rematch in Montreal wasn't close. Detroit scored the first goal, then the Canadiens took control en route to a 5-1 victory.
The Red Wings' once potent power play has gone cold. They came up empty in eight power plays in the two contests against Montreal. Over the last nine games, they have two power-play goals in 25 opportunities.
"Our margin of error is very thin, and if we're not getting quality play from our special teams, it just puts so much more on all of us," Lalonde said. "And that's been the case again. It's something we have to rectify."
They won't climb up the standings until they solve that issue.
"It definitely hurts us standings-wise," said forward Joe Veleno, who has scored in three straight games. "Bigger picture, obviously it's a long year. But we got to realize how crucial these division points are and how you can really get a leap on teams by winning in your division. It's a four-point weekend that we just let slip away."
The St. Louis coaching change hasn't turned around its fortunes. The Blues head to Detroit having lost five of their last six games (1-3-2).
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Jim Montgomery replaced Drew Bannister in late November, when the Blues were 9-12-1. They have dropped below .500 once again.
St. Louis lost 2-1 in overtime to the host Florida Panthers on Friday.
"It felt like an even game," Montgomery said. "As we know, they are the defending Stanley Cup champions and have been a dominant team in this league for two and a half years now. It's hard when you lose, especially when we had puck possession for much of the overtime."
The Blues' season-long issue has been a lack of offense. They rank 30th in the league at 2.46 goals per game.
They have only produced one goal in each of the last three games, though those losses have come against some of the East's elite New Jersey, Tampa Bay and the Panthers.
"I think we took a big step as a group," Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist said after the latest defeat. "We went up against a really good team, and it could have gone either way."
St. Louis Blues vs. Detroit Red Wings Recap MAR 22TH 2015
Red Wings 2, Blues 1 (OT): Justin Abdelkader scored a power-play goal 24 seconds into overtime as host Detroit completed a two-game season sweep of St. Louis.
Blues center Patrik Berglund was issued a tripping penalty late in regulation and the Red Wings made him pay moments into overtime. Defenseman Marek Zidlicky's one-timer from the left faceoff circle was denied by Jake Allen, but Abdelkader muscled his way in front and broke his stick while getting just enough on the puck to tap it home.
Abdelkader also recorded an assist on Erik Cole's third goal in five contests for the Red Wings, who won for the first time in three games without Pavel Datsyuk (lower body). Defensemen Kyle Quincey, Niklas Kronwall and Zidlicky each notched an assist and Jimmy Howard made 23 saves as Detroit moved five points ahead of Boston for third place in the Atlantic Division.
Alex Steen scored a power-play goal and Allen turned aside 23 shots for the Blues, who moved one point ahead of idle Nashville for the top spot in the Central despite dropping their third in a row (0-1-2). Paul Stastny and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo each registered an assist to extend their respective point streaks to three games.
St. Louis cashed in on its fourth opportunity with the man advantage as Steen unleashed a blast from above the left circle that sailed through a maze of players and past Howard at 9:38 of the second period to open the scoring. The slim advantage held up until 24 seconds into the third, when Cole alertly spotted a loose puck on the doorstep after Abdelkader's shot hit Blues defenseman Chris Butler up high and deposited it past Allen.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Detroit has converted on the power play in 11 of its last 12 games. ... Steen's goal gave him 300 points as a member of the Blues. He is the 18th player in club history to reach that milestone. ... Stastny has scored one goal and set up two others while Pietrangelo has recorded three assists during their point streaks.