The St. Louis Blues headed into the All-Star break with a sour taste in their mouths, losing their seventh straight to the San Jose Sharks last night.  The Blues trailed 0-1 after the first two periods but fell apart in the third, giving up two power play goals.  The final score was 4-1. 

The final few minutes were littered with pushing and shoving matches.  The Blues felt the Sharks were taking runs at their skill players and Blues Coach Andy Murray didn’t disagree with the response.  "We don’t normally do that, but if people are going to take shots at our skill players, then we’ll make a statement," Murray said. The Blues will have the break to mull over their losing streak, which includes not only poor play, but what the Blues believe to be blown calls. 

Each of the two losses prior to Thursday’s game in San Jose consisted of a Blues goal that was negated by a quick whistle.  The more critical of the two came on Wednesday in their 3-2 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks.  The game was tied at 2 with just under three minutes remaining in regulation when Blues forward Keith Tkachuk appeared to score the potential game-winner, only to have it waved off by the referee.  "You saw me jumping up on the bench, waving my arms when I had a chance to see it on the video replay," Blues coach Andy Murray said.  "You do that but you also realize it’s an exercise in futility."  Referee Kelly Sutherland attempted to explain to Coach Murray what he saw after the game, but all Murray could do was disagree. 

Blues goalie Manny Legace was a little blunter.  "At least go upstairs and say the puck was in the net before I blew the whistle," Legace said.  "Even if you don’t see it, it’s still in the back of the net.  That’s still a goal.  I don’t care which way you look at it."  The Blues return to action January 29 th when they travel to Toronto to play the Maple Leafs.  

Jon Allison contributed to this story