Record: 21-19-7, 49 pts Conference Rank: 13th Division Rank: 4th Top Scorer: Brad Boyes (9 goals, 22 assists, 31 points) Top Goalie: Chris Mason (14 wins, 2.52 GAA) Midseason Grade: C-
The Blues were one of last year’s hottest second half teams, and made the playoffs as a result. They will have to hope for a similar outcome this season if they wish to be playing for the Cup. Scoring goals has been a major struggle for the Blues this year, and they don’t have a single player with 15 goals yet this season. Only Carolina has a worse powerplay than the Blues, and St. Louis has a total offensive output tied for last in the West with 120 goals scored.
Erik Johnson is showing no ill effects from last year’s season ending injury, and the Blues have been decent defensively. Chris Mason has also played fairly well, but St. Louis doesn’t have the type of defense that will allow them to win games scoring 1 or 2 goals.
With the number of teams in the West that have improved this year, the Blues are most likely going to be left out in the cold. However, a lot of people were counting them out around this time last year too, and a late season surge could be enough to bump them back into contention. Gotta start scoring some goals, though.