This Blues franchise took a major step forward last season when they made the playoffs with a relatively young team. That is huge, because the rebuilding process just got accelerated, and expectations will be high in St. Louis this season. A key to this season is to get off to a better start, and better the team’s chances and just make things a little easier. Instead of heading into the last half of the season, with each game deciding your teams’ playoff future. That hurt the Blues last year, as they ran out of gas when the playoffs began and promptly got swept in the first round by Vancouver.
That was a major stepping stone for the Blues organization, because the brass now knows that this team is heading in the right direction, and the type of players they have. The Blues aren’t short on youthful talent, as they have a few that broke out last season, and are on the rise with this club.
Slowly but surely, it looks as if this Blues team is Brad Boyes’. He is just 27, but has developed at a rapid pace in the NHL, starting with Boston, and continued that with St. Louis and led them in team scoring last season. In two full seasons with the Blues, Boyes has scored 43 and 33 goals, with the latter coming last year. Boyes has proved that he is a consistent thirty goal scorer, and should eclipse that mark this season. The talent on this roster is very good, and can all help each other out.
Continuing with the youth, the Blues also have a few players that were virtual unknowns, but last season was a different story. David Backes, David Perron, Patrick Berglund, TJ Oshie and BJ Crombeen all had good successful season’s that warranted full time employment in the NHL. Backes was phenomenal with 31 goals and finished second in team scoring with 54 points. He did all that in just his second full season with the Blues. Last season Perron played full time and played in 81 games. With a full season he really impressed and showed his strong playmaking ability with 35 assists, and he finished third in team scoring with 50 points. What a showing for rookie Patrick Berglund with a 21 goal, 47 point season and a +19, how about that for a rookie? TJ Oshie really surprised the Blues when he came in after a third of the season was complete and made the most of his time with 39 points in 57 games. BJ Crombeen was a steal off the waiver wire last season, and he was a solid third line player with plenty of speed.
For this St. Louis offense to be real good, they will need Paul Kariya and Andy McDonald to be healthy. Kariya may have lost his goal scoring touch but can still manage fifteen, but his playmaking is still at a high level. In the eleven games he played in before going down with an injury the rest of the season, he scored 15 points in eleven games. Injuries have hurt McDonald big time the last three seasons, but when healthy, McDonald is a point a game player.
Defensively the Blues tightened up their game in the second half of last season, and if they didn’t, they would’ve had the worst defense in the league. The Blues will have two steady defensemen patrolling the blue line in Eric Brewer and Barret Jackman. Even injuries shortened Brewer’s season, but when he is healthy, he is as solid as they come. Playing alongside Jackman, this will be the go to pair on the Blues defense. Scoring from the blue line won’t come from Brewer or Jackman, but from Carlo Colaiacovo. Even his numbers don’t jump out at you, but he is good for thirty points. Overall, he is a good defenseman that can really skate and pass the puck.
The final three spots may be occupied by three young players that are under the age of 23. That 23 year old is Roman Polak, who is another stay at home defensemen. He can also jump into the rush and lead a rush out of his own zone. The same goes for 21 year old Erik Johnson and 19 year old Alex Pietrangelo. Scoring could come from these two youngsters if given a full season with the Blues. The chances are very high for them to start the season.
Goaltending was one of the stronger points for the Blues as they have found a real reliable player in Chris Mason. Mason went 27-21-7, with a 2.41 GAA and .916 save percentage. Winning more than 33 games should be accomplished this season, because this Blues team is one year wiser and more confident.
OVERALL--> THIS BLUES TEAM WILL BE VERY FUN TO WATCH AS THEY HAVE A LOT OF SPEED FROM THE BACK END ON THROUGH TO THE OFFENSE. THE BLUES COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE FIVE PAYERS TO SCORE 20 OR MORE GOALS THIS SEASON. HOCKEY LOOKS LIKE IT IS ABCK IN ST. LOUIS AND THIS TEAM COULD USE THE CITIES SUPPORT.
POSITIVE--> FIRST OFF, GOOD FAN BASE. THE OFFENSE SHOULD IMPROVE ON ITS 233 GOALS FOR FROM LAST SEASON. THE DEFENSE WILL BE BETTER WITH ERICE BREWER BACK AND HEALTHY. CHRIS MASON LOOKS TO HAVE FOUND A HOME IN ST. LOUIS.
NEGATIVE--> THE YOUTH MOVEMENT MAY SHOW ITS FLASHES HERE AND THERE WITH SOME WEAK PLAY FROM THE OFFENSE, TO A DEFENSE THAT HAS THREE PLAYERS UNDER THE AGE OF 23.
X-FACTOR--> LAST SEASON IT WAS CHRIS MASON WITH HIS BRILLIANT GOALTENDING, AND IT IS HIM AGAIN THIS SEASON BECAUSE STRONG GOALTENDING WINS GAMES. WITH A GOOD NOT GREAT DEFENSE IN FRONT HIM, HE WILL NEED TO BE SHARP EACH AND EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.
SLEEPER PICK--> ALEX PIETRANGELO WILL HAVE A STRONG SHOWING THIS SEASON IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY A FULL SEASON. FOR THE BLUES, THEY SHOULD STOP WORRYING ABOUT HIS YOUNG CONTRACT AND EARLY FREE AGENCY AND LET HIM PLAY.
PREDICTION--> THE ST. LOUIS BLUES WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS AND EARN 95 POINTS.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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