Blues, 4, Wings 3
Impressions after tonight's 4-3 loss in STL. 1) Babcock mentioned a couple of times the Wings still need to develop more of a killer instinct. When they were up 2-0 against the Blues, they had several chances to make it 3-0, or 4-0, and didn't do it. There's something to that, but to give up 4 goals the way they did in the 2nd period kind of blows everything else away. 2) Worried about Hasek? No, not yet. But as we approach game No. 20 you'd like to see some traction develop in Hasek's game, some consistency, and we're still not seeing it. He's got Hall of Fame credentials so he'll get all the time he needs to work out whatever needs to be worked out over time. But there's just something in his aura that's missing right now. By the way, Hasek reiterated after the game that he is fine health-wise. Nothing wrong, there. 3) 5 goals in 5 games - I guess patience has paid off for Dan Cleary. 4) Brett Lebda was opportunistic. He was plus-3 in the loss. 5) Zetterberg's point-streak came to an end. His point-lead in the league could be slowly coming to a close, too. It sure looks like Sidney Crosby is getting on track in Pittsburgh. But I still say Zetterberg, if healthy, will hang around in the top 5. The power play is too good, and that line has chemistry that isn't cultivated every day. 6) You know who isn't doing much in STL - Warren's Doug Weight (3 assists in 15 games). It's too bad, also, because Weight is one of the better people in the game. But he doesn't look close to the player he was in his prime. 7) Good for Manny Legace. After a blooper goal on Datsyuk's goal, and Cleary scoring a solid 2nd goal, Legace came back and was very, very sound the rest of the night.
