Glorious opportunity wasted by the Blues in Game 4

Opportunity wasted. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/Y6AiJRv660

— Frozen Notes (@FrozenNotes) May 6, 2016

There’s a pretty big difference between a 2-2 series and a 3-1 series. The Blues played like a team that forgot that simple math and were content to let Dallas regain home ice advantage heading into Game 5.

The words “glorious opportunity wasted” refers to not only the final result (and what a missed opportunity it was), but also to the series of missed chances in front of Kari Lehtonen. The first period should have seen the Blues leading by at least a couple. Instead, they settled for one as chances missed high and wide while others were never even taken. Few things are as frustrating as watching the Blues look for a pass when no one is challenging the shot.

Vladimir Tarasenko burned the Dallas defense for a 1-0 lead, but other chances were squandered. Troy Brouwer couldn’t finish while in all alone. Tarasenko later fired one off the pipe. Other plays which looked promising didn’t even result in a shot.

Dallas later pulled level with a lot of help from Joel Edmundson. The rookie really did screw things up, but he was just one of several skaters who turned the puck over inside the St. Louis zone. The Stars didn’t score on those chances, but they easily could have to create a more lopsided score.

Overtime was … well … overtime was brief. The Blues looked tired throughout the second and third period and perhaps they were lucky to even make it to an extra period. Just about every contested battle or puck was going Dallas’ way late in the game and that’s a big reason why the Blues are once again in a horrible spot.

There’s only so many times you can write the same words. The Blues lacked a killer instinct. They crashed when they had a chance to wrap their hands around this series. They put in an awful effort coming off a success.

Now it’s on to Dallas. The Stars have the momentum heading home and the 6-1 blowout is a distant memory. Tyler Seguin is nearing a return and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him suit up in the very near future. That’s a big, big problem and it could come back to bite the Blues harder than this Game 4 disaster.