ST. LOUIS, MO – A week ago, St. Louis was reeling after some terrible performances which continued the reversed course from how the team opened the season. It seems, at least for now, there has been a return to solid defensive discipline with some added scoring punch from less-than-expected sources.
St. Louis began a three-game home stand with Buffalo, San Jose and Nashville, a mixed bunch of teams in terms of quality.
The Blues defeated the Sabres 4-1 to kick-off the stretch. After allowing the game’s opening goal, St. Louis rattled off four straight markers from Robby Fabbri (4), Jaden Schwartz (4), Kyle Brodziak (1) and Scottie Upshall (3). They outshot Buffalo 31-24 scoring a goal on their only power play and killing 3 of 4 penalties.
After dispatching the lowly Sabres, the Blues hosted the Sharks, engaging their Western Conference Final from last Spring. After allowing the game’s opening goal for second straight game, St. Louis gained two goals from Jaden Schwartz (6, 7) and the game winner from David Perron (5) for a 3-2 victory. Although outshot by the powerful Sharks 31-25, St. Louis hung tough with them, scoring a power play goal in one of their 4 chances and was a perfect 6 for 6 killing penalties.
The Blues closed out the stretch with surging division-rival Nashville. St. Louis controlled most of the game and gained goals from David Perron (6), Kyle Brodziak (2) and Vladimir Tarasenko (7). They outshot the Predators 34-31, going 0 for 3 on the man advantage and killing 2 of 3 shorthanded situations.
The 3-0 home stand pushed St. Louis’ home record to 8-1-2, good for 4th overall on success in familiar surroundings. It is the road where the Blues are having trouble. Currently 24th overall with a 2-5-1 record, the Blues are struggling and only one of those road losses was a win which slipped away late (the loss in Vancouver 3-2 in overtime after losing a late lead).
The Blues sit at 23 points through their first nineteen games with a record of 10-6-3 good for 2nd place in the Central Division, 5 points behind Chicago, 2nd in the Western Conference and 7th overall in the 30-team NHL. They are 5-4-1 in their last ten games.
They rank 20th in goals with 47 and an average of 2.47 per game while their goals against is 15th with 51 allowed at a rate of 2.63 per game. They rank 18th with a goal differential of minus 4. They are 16th overall in shots for at 29.7 per game while they are 3rd overall in shots against at 26.81 per game.
On special teams, they are 9th overall with a conversion rate of 21.2% (14 of 67). Their penalty kill is 2nd overall, stifling opponents at an 89.6% rate (8 of 77). The latter figure seems to be a determining factor in allowing the Blues to be at the top of the Conference heap.
In scoring, Vladimir Tarasenko leads his team in goals with 7 followed by newcomer David Perron and Jaden Schwartz with 6 each. In points, Tarasenko leads the Blues with 19, followed by defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk with 14, Perron with 11 and Paul Stastny and Alex Steen with 10 each.
When examining both sides of the balance sheet, just six players are on the plus side with forward Dmitrij Jaskin and defenseman Robert Bortuzzo leading the group with +3. On the negative side, Alex Pietrangelo has hit the depth of -9 while Alex Steen is -8.
In goal, Jake Allen has improved his numbers in the past week, but perhaps more so, has been a solid contributor to each of the three home wins by stopping 82 of 86 shots for a 0.953 save percentage. With 15 starts, his record is 8-3-0-3 with a 0.910 save percentage and 2.35 goals against average. His recent play has pulled the Blues out of a cumbersome slump.
St. Louis needs more contribution from Dmitrij Jaskin (0 goals and just 4 assists), enigmatic Patrik Berglund (1 goal and 3 assists with a -3 rating) and Nail Yakupov (2 goals and 2 assists with a -3 rating). All three are being outscored by three of their defensemen teammates.
So things could be turning up, but this recent success might just be a little more luck than substance. There seems to be no rhyme or reason on why the Blues can beat the tough times like Chicago and the New York Rangers, but fall handily to Calgary and Dallas. Maybe it is that first six- week stretch of the season which should be viewed as extended pre-season, the time for players to form their cohesive unit and get ready for the meat of the campaign.
There is a tough stretch for the Blues this week with road games in Boston and Washington back to back Tuesday the 22nd and Wednesday the 23rd before the US Thanksgiving holiday. Then it is home for five straight with Minnesota on Saturday the 26th and Dallas on Monday the 28th to close out November.
December starts with a meaty group of three when Tampa Bay comes to town on Thursday the 1st, Winnipeg on Saturday the 3rd and league-leading Montreal on Tuesday the 6th. St. Louis embarks on a four-game road trip after the home stretch.
Follow me on Twitter at DMMORRELL and you can contact me at dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.