Late Night Blues Wrap

by gallagher on Nov 30, 2011 12:56 AM CST

Sorry for no bullets tonight, I had to go suck terribly at a rec league game and had no time to write before leaving the house. By now you've all had the chance to talk about everything that went right in that game, one of the best was the timing of meeting a very good team that is playing very poorly right now.

Instead of a bunch of redundant bulletpoints, here are some talking points for when your idiot non-hockey co-workers ask you over and over tomorrow, "So, what is up with your Blues?"

With 30 points in 24 games, the Blues are tied for fourth in the league in points. The leader? Pittsburgh, with 32 in 25 games. The Blues are fourth in the Western Conference, but only because they are not leading their division. The top two teams in the West? Minnesota and Chicago with 31 points each. The Blackhawks also have played 25 games.
At 7-1-2 in their last 10 games, the Blues are tied with Detroit and Vancouver (both 8-2-0) for most points in the West in that span.
T.J. Oshie is on pace for 24 goals and 31 assists (55 points). All three would be career highs for him, but he has five points in the last five games, so the hope is that he is responding to Coach Hitchcock's leadership and system and that he can surpass both totals.
David Backes is on pace for the inverse of Oshie's numbers: 31 goals and 24 assists and 55 points. The goals would tie his career high and the other two would set new highs for him. Like Oshie, he has increased his totals of late, scoring four points in the last three games.
Kevin Shattenkirk is on pace for 41 assists. Alex Pietrangelo is on pace to be the team's No. 1 defenseman right about. . . now.
Brian Elliott leads the league in goals against average at 1.31 and save percentage at 95.1%. His record is 10-1-0. Jaroslav Halak's numbers aren't as impressive, but they're badly skewed by his early season struggles. The common perception around the league is that the Blues currently have two starting goaltenders. Both, by the way, are 26 years old.
As a group, the Blues are almost all on the positive side of the plus/minus rating. The only guys who aren't? Evgeni Grachev (minus-3), Patrik Berglund (minus-2), Chris Stewart, Ryan Reaves and Brett Sterling (all minus-1). The guys at the top end of the scale are Alex Steen at plus-14 (who also leads the team with 17 points), Matt D'Agostini (plus-13), Jason Arnott (plus-10) and Shattenkirk and Pietrangelo at plus-9.

The Blues, friends, are becoming relevant again. It's just a matter of time before you become the expert in the office about the Blues. Time to study up and be ready.

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Comments

LOVING watching the Note right now!

My concern is how long we can continue to win scoring two goals.

I’d just like to see our goaltenders get a fat cushion to sit on. Call me greedy.

by Liut! on Nov 30, 2011 1:10 AM CST reply actions

Backes

Has 31 Assists last year and 62 points, both career highs… so the pace would be a tad below that.

by Cole Youngner on Nov 30, 2011 1:53 AM CST reply actions

yup

http://www.stlouisgametime.com/

by cold on Nov 30, 2011 7:56 AM CST up reply actions

fuckin ay

this feels good to watch.

In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life.

by ilikeboyes on Nov 30, 2011 1:57 AM CST via iPhone app reply actions

So this is what the top third of the conference looks like...

Nice place ya’ got here, I think we’ll make ourselves comfortable and hang around awhile. Oh, is that ham dip!

I once shot a man just to see him die...then I got distracted and missed it.

by TheDuke32 on Nov 30, 2011 7:38 AM CST via mobile reply actions

I am studying up.

I don’t have an office but last night as I was watching the game in the lounge and a guy that lives on the floor also came in. He asked how the Blues were doing because apparently “you don’t hear much about them” according to him. I said they were doing amazing right now and he seemed very surprised.

by bluesgirl22 on Nov 30, 2011 7:43 AM CST reply actions

Other random stats

Teams the blues have played since hitchcock hiring… with the team’s rank at the time they played

8-1-2 over that span

W Chicago (#2 west conference)
OTL Toronto (#2 east)
W Tampa (#8 east)
W Detroit (#5 west)
W Florida (#7 east) (note: ranked #2 east now)
OTL Minnesota (#2 west)
L Los Angeles (#8 west)
W Pittsburgh (#1 east and general gayness)
W Calgary (#13 west)
W Columbus (#15 west)
W Washington (#8 east)

http://www.stlouisgametime.com/

by cold on Nov 30, 2011 7:57 AM CST reply actions 1 recs

Now this makes me feel good.

I am The One Who Shall Remain Avatar-less.

by Classic17 on Nov 30, 2011 10:57 AM CST up reply actions

Wish I could retweet that.

Great work. That paints an even more impressive picture.

PC Load Letter? What the fuck does that mean?

by DanGNR on Nov 30, 2011 10:58 AM CST up reply actions

Other other random factoids

Random Fun Facts:

- The Blues have been truly blown out only once all year. 5-0 loss to LA back in the first month.

- If you sort all teams by ROW (which is regulation plus overtime wins, not counting shootout wins), the Blues are tied for #1 in the entire NHL, with Vancouver.

- Blues have allowed 28 goals at even-strength, in 24 games. (48 goals allowed total. -2 empty net. -2 shorthanded. -16 power play goals against).

- 7 for 80 on the power play. Yikes. Only one other team is in single-digits: Phoenix at 9 for 75.

- Detroit (5th) has 2 games in hand and the Sharks (10th) have 3 games in hand… so they are probably going to move up the rankings a bit.

- Right now, there is a big drop-off in points between 11th place (Nashville 26 pts) and 12th place (Calgary 21pts).

http://www.stlouisgametime.com/

by cold on Nov 30, 2011 8:05 AM CST reply actions