St Louis Blues: What Makes Them So Good?

The defending Stanley Cup Champions, and yes I do like saying that, are in a pretty good position this season. The Blues currently sit first in the Western Conference and recently put together an 8 game win streak. Their 92 points have them first in the Central Division, first in the Western Conference and third overall in league standings. But what sets the Blues apart from other top teams this season?


I’m going to bring up a few key points:



Goalscoring throughout the lineup

On October 24^th the St Louis Blues were dealt the injury blow that forward Vladimir Tarasenko would have to sit out at least the next 5 months. Tarasenko was the Blues leading goalscorer in 2018/19 and it was obvious that players would need to step up to fill this gap. 


Other teams have individuals which have contributed much of their offense this season such as the league-leading Boston Bruins. Their top goalscorer David Pastrnak has 23 more goals (48) than Blues leading goalscorer David Perron (25). Boston have 2 players totaling over 80 points. Washington has Alex Ovechkin with 48 goals. Colorado has Nathan McKinnon with 35 goals and 93 points overall. 


However, St Louis have 5 players with over 50 points. 11 players have 10+ goals this season and 10 players have 25+ points.


Players such as David Perron, Robert Thomas, Oskar Sundqvist, Jordan Kyrou and Zach Sanford have seen their average time on ice and points totals increase since last season. The ability of the St Louis Blues to be able to contribute from any player on any given night makes them so exciting to watch and unpredictable for other teams. Veteran players continue to shine and younger players leave Blues fans excited about the future of this team in years to come. The rest of the team has showed no ill effects without #91 and the lineup should only get better when Tarasenko does indeed return. The fact that the Blues CAN provide scoring from anywhere in their lineup is huge in dealing with the absence of Tarasenko.



David Perron OT game winners

This one deserves a point all on its own. In just under 850 NHL games, #57 has 8 OT goals, 4 of which came this season. Perron, who has 9 GWG goals in total this season, became the first player in NHL history to score 3 overtime goals before the 20^th game of the season. Perron began this feat in Detroit on October 27^th against the Red Wings, got his second 8 seconds into OT vs the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 2^nd and finally on November 10^th scored the OT winner past the Calgary Flames to round out a 7 game win streak. As a Blues fan I am absolutely delighted he has come back for a third time to my team.



Defence

The Blues are a very good team for limiting the number of shots on goal by their opponents. All the players in all positions play their role in defence and the buy in from the full team in this way not only helps limit shots, but also allows defencemen a chance to be offensive. 


Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko rank inside the Blues top 10 for points this season, the latter of whom had an outstanding run in February and reached the 10 goal mark last night. Parayko’s hard shot from the outside often provides assists for his teammates. 


Only a few days ago in the Blues 2-0 win over rivals Chicago, both goals came from defensemen. The first came from Robert Bortuzzo who scored from a seemingly impossible angle, and the second from captain Alex Pietrangelo. 


And recently, in 3 consecutive games, the Blues limited opponents to under 50 shots collectively.



And their goaltending isn’t too bad either.

The Blues goaltending tandem of Jordan Binnnington and Jake Allen came to life in the second half of the 2018/19 season when Binnington made his NHL debut.


Both goaltenders have been impressive this year. Allen was incredible in the Blues 2-0 win over the Blackhawks last weekend and has shutout the Blackhawks twice this season and helped the Blues complete their first ever series sweep of Chicago. 


After his record-setting role in the 2019 Stanley Cup, Binnington has continued strong.  #50 has 3 shutouts on the year and Jake Allen is close behind with 2. 


This season Binnington ranks second for wins with 30 from 50. Allen sits 2^nd for GAA with 2.22. The arrival of Jordan Binnington has helped both goalies get better and both provide the Blues with an opportunity to win on any given night.





So… what can we learn from the St Louis Blues?

1. Collective buy-in: St Louis Blues have scoring all throughout their lineup and the rest of the team has hugely stepped up to replace the injured Vladimir Tarasenko. 
   
2. Defense is everyone’s job: It’s true that the pucks that go pack the goaltender have had to go past 5 skaters first and the St Louis Blues all get involved in defense and help their goaltender out.
   
3. Goalie competition ain’t so bad: If you can have two great goalies, then do. I believe that since the arrival of Jordan Binnington, a little healthy goalie competition for the starting spot provides the team with two great options each night.

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