Blues Get Blown Out in Pittsburgh With 'Unacceptable' Performance

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PITTSBURGH -- St. Louis Blues head coach Andy Murray lifted his starting goaltender, Chris Mason, following the second period of his team's 5-1 loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. And it wasn't due to poor performance by the veteran netminder.

Sure, he gave up four goals through two periods, but the Penguins were coming at him in waves over the opening 40 minutes. Had it not been for the play of Mason, the Penguins could have -- and would have -- blown the doors off this game much earlier than they did.

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"When they scored their fourth goal ... I don't believe you pull the goalie right away unless it's the goalie's fault," said Murray. "And obviously that wasn't the case tonight.

"When a goalie has to skate off the ice it's a lonely feeling, and he didn't deserve that tonight. He wanted to play in the third. It had nothing to do with him and that's why we waited until the period was over so we could do it quietly and he didn't have to skate off the ice."

The Penguins finished the game with a season-high 43 shots on goal, including 20 after the first period, rarely giving Mason an opportunity to catch his breath. There were only six Penguins players in uniform (one of which was goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury) who didn't record a point in what was a total team-effort.

"There was a few times I was pretty tired," said Mason. "They had it in our zone, you know, one of the best teams in the league and they're moving the puck around and it was pretty tiring, but, that's the way it goes sometimes."

He continued: "For us not to be ready to play the defending Stanley Cup champions is unacceptable. We came off a good second and third period in Anaheim, against a very good team, and I don't know if we're getting ahead of ourselves and getting a little cocky and thinking that it should be easier than it really is, but to come out like we did against these guys, this is what's going to happen."

Murray was also at a loss for words after his team closed out its three-game road trip with its worst performance of the season. Giving Pittsburgh the first four power plays of the game, resulting in a pair of power play goals, put the Blues in a hole they couldn't climb out of.

"When you don't have the energy or the legs," said Murray. "It means you're reaching with your sticks and you're doing things you shouldn't be doing. Obviously with the shots it was total domination by Pittsburgh. It was pretty clear to see such a drop-off. It's difficult to understand why we didn't have legs and why we didn't have energy."

With the win, the Penguins now have the best record in the league at 8-1. The only negative on the night for Pittsburgh is the injury to No. 1 defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who left midway through the second period with an undisclosed injury and did not return.

Tuesday's Other Games

Montreal ends its five-game losing streak with a 2-1 shootout win against Atlanta. [Box Score, Recap]

Calgary picks up a 6-3 win at home against Columbus. [Box Score, Recap]

Loose Pucks

-- From the waiver wire a year ago to a millionaire today. Rich Peverley signs a two-year contract extension with the Atlanta Thrashers worth $2.6 million. [TSN]

-- The Dallas Stars need more production from their centers. [Defending Big D]

-- Mathieu Dandenault signs a tryout deal with the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL. [Steve Zipay, via Blueshirt Banter]

-- The Buffalo Sabres traded forward Dan Paille to the Boston Bruins for a couple of draft picks, including a third-round selection and a conditional pick. He's yet to play a game for the Sabres this season. [WGR]

Video Of The Day

The St. Louis Blues were dominated on Tuesday night, but like I said before -- and multiple times in my live blog -- it wasn't because of the play of Chris Mason. He kept this game from being 7-1 or 8-1, and it was because of saves like this:



Wednesday's Key Games

Hurricanes vs. Islanders: The New York Islanders are still looking for their first win, and they get another crack at it when they host the Carolina Hurricanes. The 'Canes have lost three in a row entering play on Wednesday night.

Avalanche vs. Wild: Colorado has lost one game in regulation. Minnesota has one win. The Wild will be playing its first game with the recently acquired Chuck Kobasew.

Canucks vs. Blackhawks: In a rematch of last year's Western Conference Semifinal, Roberto Luongo and the Canucks look to get back on track in Chicago.