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After picking up their ninth consecutive home win Monday night at Enterprise Center, it is worth looking at St. Louis’ play on home ice this season, and comparing it to past records.
Posting a 17-4-3 record at home during the current season, the Blues have managed to not only string together an achievement that has not been matched since 1991 but have performed well for the St. Louis faithful.
There’s no Stanley Cup hangover for these Blues, who lead the Western Conference by 11 points but also are the league leader on home ice this season (Pittsburgh is closely behind at 16-5-3).
St. Louis has outscored their opponents 80-53 along with a 70.8 home win percentage and a 83.3 point percentage — Is Enterprise Center a place that visiting teams do not want to play in?
I would argue that from the results the Blues have posted thus far, that yes, this is the NHL’s toughest arena to come into as a road team during this 2019-20 season.
With that in mind, taking a look back at recent years, I recall hearing from player and coach interviews that the at the time Scottrade Center was not a ‘fun’ building to play in — And the statistics would back that up.
From 2011 to 2015, the Blues posted 27, 28 and 30 home-win seasons during the time period, but saw the trend slightly decline over the latter part of the decade in which they still posted four straight 24 home win records.
Allen: “We’ve had success here at home lately. Probably the previous two seasons we’ve struggled a bit at home. We’ve found our niche here.” #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 14, 2020
Berube on home success: "At times last year, we were too cute at home. Maybe, I don’t know, trying to impress the fans. Whatever it is. But I don’t find we’re doing that this year. We’re just playing our game, the same as we do on the road." #stlblues
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) January 14, 2020
Thinking about Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Amalie Area in Tampa Bay and Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, those are arenas where road teams have struggled throughout the past three or four years. The respective teams posted home win records anywhere from 29 to 32 wins.
While Tampa Bay has continued to play well on home ice, the others have underperformed this season and instead have opened the gate for the defending Stanley Cup Champions to take over their spot on the list.
I’m not sure if it is the post Cup excitement, something in the water or if this team is just that good. With that in mind, there are 17 home games remaining this season and a very high chance that if you head down to 14th and Clark, then you should be in store for an enjoyable experience.
Make it 10 on Wednesday, Blues.