Halak Scores On Himself(video), The Blues Continue To Slide

Added on Nov 19, 2010 by J Merrill in

NHL

In case you haven’t seen the play yet, the video is below, of the hard to look at video of Jaroslav Halak of the St Louis Blues scoring on himself. He deflected a shot on goal that fluttered about 5 feet high right in front him. The goalies typically smack those shots into the corner, but instead of going to the corner, the puck pretty much came straight back at him and right in the net. Good luck for Drew Miller, who got credit for the goal; bad luck for Halak.

People in the locker room are reporting that Halak stormed out of the room, and was slamming doors in his wake. Obviously he was upset, and you would be too. This was a motion he does about 5000 times a year. It got worse from their for Halak though, and gave up 6 more goals in the game against the Redwings. Three of which were in the span of 3:14 seconds breaking the 3-3 tie!

There isn’t much to say after a game, and a third period, like that. Halak’s only real comment on the play was “Stuff Happens.” Halak has allowed 19 goals and gone 0-3-1 over his past four games, after allowing six goals during a six-game winning streak. The Blues have gone 0-4-1 since a seven-game winning streak overall.

When the Blues were winning games consistently they were able to block a lot of shots before they got to Halak. The Blues haven’t moved the puck as well. Also, they have spent less time in the offensive zone and more time in the defensive zone. The injuries are hitting hitting them hard early in the season, and that includes two top four defensemen: Barret Jackman and Roman Polak. Halak and backup goaltender have not been able to compensate for the missing defensemen.

Coach Davis Payne feels they need to cope better with the injuries then they have been, but recognizes they are playing a factor in this run of bad luck. He said, “I don’t think the attention to detail on the defensive side of things has been the way it was prior to all these injuries. We’ve got key guys out of the lineup. There’s no hiding from that. But we’ve got to make sure that the formula stays the same.”

“When teams go through a bad stretch, lose four or five games like this, it hurts,” Halak said. “But it’s hockey. What can we do about the last four or five games? It’s past. We’ve got a lot of hockey left in the season. We can always turn it around.”

At least the Blues are returning home, where they are 6-0-1. They play Friday night against the Ottawa Senators and Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils.

Here is the video: