Still a powerhouse: Could this finally be the Blues' year?
The St. Louis Blues have undergone quite an incredible transformation. From 2011 to 2016, they routinely finished near the top of the Western Conference standings, only to fall short in the playoffs. Since that five-year stretch, they have been smacked in the face with adversity, but remain one of the league's best teams.
The Blues (7-2-1) have 15 points, tying them with the Los Angeles Kings for the most in the Western Conference. This comes less than a year after they underwent a coaching change - replacing Ken Hitchcock with Mike Yeo - and were sellers at the deadline, trading Kevin Shattenkirk to the Capitals for draft picks and prospects. And as they moved into the 2017-2018 season, the Blues were dealing with a glut of injuries to various key players.
Alexander Steen missed the first six games of the season, Jay Bouwmeester has yet to play, Patrik Berglund is out until December, and Robby Fabbri is out for the season.
Combine all of this, and the Blues weren't given much of a chance heading into the season, with Bodog giving them 33/1 odds at winning the cup this year. Seventeen teams were given a better chance to win it all.
It's possible the Blues have been playing with a chip on their shoulder because of that disrespect. Nothing ignites a team more than an "us against the world" mentality. However, there's clearly more to it than that.
Since Yeo took over as head coach on Feb. 1, the Blues have put together a regular season record of 29-10-3. Including playoffs, they're 35-15-3 under their new coach. Clearly, getting away from Hitchcock's ultra-defensive system has done wonders for the team. Yeo is getting the most out of his most important players.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Alex Pietrangelo has always been regarded as one of the league's best defensemen, but he has taken his game to another level since Shattenkirk was sent packing on Feb. 27. In 30 regular-season games since the trade, Pietrangelo has 9 goals and 21 assists. He's producing at an Erik Karlsson-like pace, while remaining an elite defender in his own zone.
The case could be made that Pietrangelo is the very best blue-liner in the world right now, and he is doing so without his longtime trusted D partner, Bouwmeester.
When you have one of, if not the best, defenseman in the league playing nearly half the game each night, it makes your entire team drastically better.
Jaden Schwartz appears to be coming into his own, with seven goals and seven assists in 10 games thus far. Vladimir Tarasenko continues to fill the net with pucks, and offseason acquisition Brayden Schenn is playing at a near point-per-game pace, as is Vladimir Sobotka, who returned to the Blues at the end of last season after a three-year hiatus in the KHL.
All of these players, including Pietrangelo, have one thing in common: all are playing a career-high in average time on the ice. Yeo is trusting in his best players, and they are getting the job done.
However, regular-season success is ordinary for the Blues. They've enjoyed plenty of that. Though, with many new faces on the ice, a new face behind the bench, and a new style of play, this Blues team is certainly different than ones in the past.
Unlike in previous seasons, the expectation isn't "Stanley Cup or bust" for these Blues. Without that burden hanging over their shoulder, maybe this is the year the Blues will reverse their postseason fate.
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