Did the Blues play uninspired last night for a majority of the game? Yes. Did they look sluggish and soft early? Yes. Could they have been tired, or possibly felt fatigued from this road trip? Maybe. These factors aside, the Blues still put themselves in a position to get points last night, tied 2-2 with a few minutes to play. Cue Ryan Getzlaf who interfered with Barret Jackman on what was an obvious knee-to-knee hit. This dirty hit on a puckless Jackman took Jax out of the play and allowed Anaheim to score the go ahead goal, ultimately winning the game.
Every year we see a game that can simply be described as infuriating and this one falls firmly into that category. The Blues didn’t play well, or even good last night but they at least appeared set to go into OT before this no call changed everything. Jackman did not have the puck and was skating to defend Corey Perry until Getzlaf’s dirty hit sent Jackman to the ice. How did the officials miss this one? Did Jackman just do a bunch of spin moves away from the puck for the hell of it?
My guess is that the eyes on the ice were looking elsewhere, or at least that’s what I keep telling myself as there is no way an official could have seen that play and not blown a whistle for tripping or interference.
The hit on Jackman was a cruel ending to what was an otherwise great night for the defender. Jackman was responsible for both of the Blues’ goals last night, but unfortunately he will be remembered as being on the ugly end of a dirty hit that went unnoticed.
Whether the NHL will dish out any punishment is yet to be seen, but I’m guessing they will lean toward avoiding handing Getzlaf a suspension as there was no call on the ice.
Chalk up another loss.
That makes seven straight, and the third under new coach Davis Payne. This may be the toughest loss to swallow as the go ahead goal should not have happened, at least, not in the matter it did. The Ducks are a team as hungry as any for a win, but to see a game littered with questionable hits, specifically knee-to-knee hits (Getzlaf and Scott Niedermayer, I’m looking at you) it shines an ugly light on the team from Anaheim, and made fans like myself rooting for Janssen to come on in the final seconds to give some retribution.
If we are going to lose, lose fairly, but not on a ridiculous omission that this writer hopes makes it for review.
Off that tangent …
– Jackman’s two goals marked his second career game in which he has lit the lamp multiple times.
– Chris Mason has lost his last five starts, which is rather unfortunate considering his outstanding play against San Jose and his solid play last night.
– The loss sinks the Blues to a 17-19-7 record for 41 points in 43 games played. When the number of games played is larger than the number of points your team has earned, you are in big trouble.
– The Blues sit at 4th in the Central and 13th in the Western Conference, 12 points out of a playoff spot. Not to sound all doom and gloom, but realistically it will take another miracle run for the Blues to make it into the playoffs this year.
– The road had been a lone bright spot for the Blues, but so far under Payne they are 0-1-1 on the road – a small sample size, but when all of your points are coming on the road and now you are not getting results, it spells ugly times for fans dreaming of the playoffs.
Below, a video breaking down the ugly hit on Jackman that resulted in a surprising no call.
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