There were no early penalties for St Louis Blues on Friday night, which was a welcome change after a bizarre call before their game even began the night before.
The Blues kept up their recent winning run with a 5-2 thrashing of Calgary Flames on Friday, and they've recently seen off fellow Canadian side Edmonton Oilers 4-3 after a cagey 1-0 overtime win against Nashville Predators. But their clash against the Oilers got off to a confusing start, as the Blues were handed a penalty before the puck had even dropped.
Officials watched on until they were officially allowed to stop the game with a whistle, and then punished the Blues after just 32 seconds. The Blues bench looked outraged and they conceded shortly after, but their protests died down after the NHL rule was explained.
The Blues named their starting line-up as normal, and Ryan O’Reilly, Brandon Saad and Josh Leivo skated towards centre-ice for the opening face-off as usual. However, the Blues had Brayden Schenn down as their starter, rather than Saad.
Every team is required to submit their line-up ahead of a game in the NHL, that is not a new revelation. But on Thursday night the Blues found out what happens if you fail to start the group that has been declared on paper.
The Blues were given a two-minute minor penalty, which saw them shorthanded to start off the game. The Oilers and Zach Hyman soon took advantage, scoring on their powerplay to take the lead.
Thankfully for the Blues, it didn't matter, as a hectic game ended 3-3 before they claimed the extra point after Jordan Kyrou scored the only penalty of the shootout. It's certainly not a mistake that the Blues will make again, and it's sent a message to the rest of the league.
A more normal start to their recent game against the Flames followed, although this clash wasn't anywhere near as close. Saad, Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich and Ivan Barbashev shared the goals in a 5-2 win, with Connor Mackey claiming both goals for the Flames.
The Blues are now 15-15-1 for the season, and with a record of 4-5-1 in their last 10, they couldn't be more balanced at this moment in time. They're stuck in the middle of the central division, one that's so far been dominated by the Dallas Stars.
