To Be Best You Have To Beat Best

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  The Blues have already beaten the mighty Detroit Red Wings this season, twice!  The Note taking care of the wings in both games in Sweden.  Since then the Blues have been struggling for consistency.  Perhaps Saturday night's lop-sided shutout at Anaheim will be the start of a solid stretch of play for the Bluenote.

  Next up for the Blues (3-2-1) are the defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins.  The two teams meet Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.  The Pens (7-1-0) are off to a terrific start in defense of their title.  Evgeni Malkin is again among the league leaders in points.

  The Penguins will be the Blues next measuring stick game.  How do they measure up?  We'll find out. 

  The tale of the tape shows the Blues are better on the power play:

Power Play rank

Blues   24% (12th in NHL)

Pens   17.1% (21st in NHL)

  Despite some early struggles killing penalties, the Blues are not far behind the Penguins:

Penalty Kill rank

Blues  81.5% (13th in NHL)

Pens  83.7% (11th in NHL)

  Special teams will be key all season for the Blues.  The Note will need to show continued improvement Tuesday night versus Pittsburgh, as well as all season long.