St Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues currently sit fourth in the Western Conference standings after Thursday night's loss to the first place Vancouver Canucks.

However, looking solely at points, the Blues have the third most points in the NHL and were just one win away from being the league's No. 1 team.

Now, six points ahead of the fifth place Nashville Predators, it seems the Blues have at the very least locked up home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. So, the question to be asked is, how far can the St. Louis Blues go in the 2012 NHL playoffs?

First, let's discuss what's working in favor of the Blues.

Goaltending—The Blues have allowed the second fewest goals in the league. The tandem of Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak is a leading contender for the William M. Jennings Trophy, a trophy awarded each year to the goalie tandem with the fewest goals against.

What I think is so crucial to their playoff success is that the Blues will not have to lean on one goalie. I fully expect them to continue the two-goalie system in the playoffs that allowed both Halak and Elliott to win 20 games this season, the first time in franchise history that that has happened. If one of the net-minders is off of his game, the other will be fresh and ready to step in as soon as the elite goal-tending play starts to falter.

Defense—The Blues currently lead the NHL in shots allowed per game with 26.2, according to ESPN.com.

Ken Hitchcock has established a defense-first philosophy that backchecks harder than any other team. The Blues do a phenomenal job clogging up the neutral zone and causing difficult entries for their opponents. In the defensive zone, they force shots to the outside.

Adding to the great defensive fundamentals, the Blues play extremely physical. They really don't have a single player who is afraid to hit or take a hit, and you can tell from the way that they wear down their opponents.

Ken Hitchcock—The Blues coach is practically guaranteed to be a Jack Adams finalist for coach of the year.

Prior to this season, one of the Blues' prime postseason concerns was playoff experience. Enter Jamie Langenbrunner, Kent Huskins, Jason Arnott and now Ken Hitchcock. Between the four of them, they have won five total Stanley Cups and know what it takes to make a postseason run. Hitchcock, who often says he does not coach hockey but rather coaches people who play hockey, knows how to handle the young talent of the Blues and when to leave responsibility to the veterans.

Playoff style hockey—The intensity of playoff games is unbelievably different than the intensity of regular season games. Every player is on their toes, playing the tightest defensive hockey they have played all season. Teams that have relied on their offense have trouble making deep playoff runs.

In the 2010-2011 season, the Stanley Cup Final was played between the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks. The Bruins allowed the fewest goals during the regular season in the Eastern Conference, and the Canucks allowed the fewest goals during the regular season in the Western Conference.

The Blues have been playing this low-scoring, defensively-intense style of hockey all season now, so they are accustomed to close one-goal games.

In the NHL, the old mantra "defense wins championships" tends to hold true.

Now, let's look at some of the major factors working against the Blues.

Scoring—One of the weaknesses of the Blues has been their scoring. Their defense has been what's gotten them so far, but the Blues lack a defined goal-scorer.

That doesn't mean that they can't win, but late in the game when the Blues need a goal, they have no go-to scorer. This has been a problem for a while, as the Blues have a shaky ownership situation and have not been able to spend big money on big players.

Injuries—The Blues were practically silent at the generally unexciting 2012 trade deadline. GM Doug Armstrong said he liked the team as it was, and most people would agree, but part of that decision was the hope that key players would return from injuries.

No team has been more affected by concussions than the Blues. Top-six forwards David Perron and Andy McDonald have missed huge portions of the season with concussions and are always prone to re-injury. Now, top-six forward Alex Steen has missed 29 straight games and still has no timetable for his return. Defenseman Kris Russell is out indefinitely with a concussion, along with the Blues' most skilled third line forward Matt D'Agostini. Jamie Langenbrunner, an assistant captain and tremendous two-way player, remains out with a fractured foot.

The Blues are seriously having troubles with their depth now, and the return of any of these players would be huge for their postseason success.

"Quality-wins"—If playoff seeding were like March Madness, the Blues might not be looked upon favorably by the selection panel. The Blues have had serious problems of late with beating elite teams. Since the start of January, the Blues are 2-6 against teams currently in the top five in their respective conferences. If you include Chicago, the Blues are 2-7 since January against top-five teams. In fact, among the past 11 Blues losses, three have come against Detroit, two against Nashville and two against Vancouver. If the Blues plan to go further than the second round, they will certainly need to prove that they can beat elite teams.

Because of their dominant defense, strong goaltending and tremendous team chemistry, the Blues really do have a chance to do something special this postseason. Doing something special means going past the second round, a round in which they will undoubtedly meet another elite team.

If the Blues can prove in the last quarter of the season that they can play with the other league powerhouses, they are a true Stanley Cup contending team, as strange as that feels to say given the Blues' lack of success in the past six years. But, if they continue to struggle against top teams, it's difficult to imagine the Blues going deep into the playoffs, unless of course, the team gets healthy and stays healthy.

Every St. Louis Blues fan knew that this deal was coming. The Blues had Jaroslav Halak locked up for a few years, and with the stellar play of Brian Elliot and his brand new, two-year contract extension, there was no place in St. Louis for Ben Bishop. The deal was inevitable.

Ben Bishop grew up in St. Louis. He played for the Chaminade Red Devils, a local high school, so playing for the Blues would have been a dream that not many players can achieve. But, Ottawa is still a great destination for the NHL-ready goaltender. 

Ottawa was having their fair share of goaltending problems. They chose to let Elliot go in this past offseason, and now he is having a career year with the Blues. Craig Anderson has not been the goalie that he can be. And now, he could be out long term after cutting himself with a knife and tearing a tendon in his hand.

Ottawa is currently sitting in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, and relying on a back-up goaltender is not the way to make it into April. Ottawa needed an NHL-ready goaltender, and Ben Bishop was the answer.

Bishop has played in only 13 games, but has been the back-up for many more. He was the back-up during the Blues' 2008 playoff run, and knows what it takes to be the starting goaltender. He is arguably the best goaltender in the AHL, being the first star in the AHL All-Star game this season. Bishop would have been the back-up to Jaroslav Halak had Brian Elliot not been playing out of his mind this season.

For the Blues, this trade is a bittersweet trade. The Blues loved having the homegrown talent in Bishop. He worked as hard as anyone else on the team, and was putting everything on the line.

However, the Blues knew they couldn't hold on to Bishop and had to trade him, for fear of losing him in the offseason for nothing. By sending him to Ottawa, Bishop is all but guaranteed to be playing in Ottawa, if not starting.

The Blues, in return for Bishop, get a second round pick. St. Louis always has drafted well, with players like David Perron, TJ Oshie, and David Backes, all who are now the core of the St. Louis Blues, being picked from the amateur leagues. This pick should be like every other one, a great player that will eventually be part of the winning organization.

Ben Bishop was all but out of St. Louis. There was nowhere for him to go at the NHL level, even though he was playing like he should be there. Ottawa was in desperate need of an NHL-ready goaltender, and Bishop was the answer. It's a win for everyone involved. 

About a month ago I wrote an article about the Blues needing to be road warriors down the final stretch of the NHL season if they wanted to make a strong Stanley Cup run.

Well that final stretch began Thursday night as the Blues defeated the Nashville Predators 3-2 in a shootout.

While the Blues are tied for the NHL lead in most home wins, the team has definitely struggled on the road this season. With the win last night the Blues improved their road record to 11-13-3, but that still puts them at two games under .500 on the road.

Last night's victory was the most important for the Blues all season for one main reason, confidence. The Blues obviously can not do anything about their past struggles on the road, but if they can become a strong road team down the stretch they will have a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup.

Over the next month the Blues play 12 of their next 15 games on the road. The stretch of games will test the Blues physically as well as mentally.

The victory over Nashville last night is so important, because it was essential that the Blues start this road trip on the proverbial right note. Nashville has the fourth most wins at home in the NHL this season, and provided an extremely difficult test for St. Louis. By winning last night the Blues start their incredibly difficult season ending stretch off with a 1-0 record, and it keeps them close to the top teams in the NHL.

Although winning on the road has been one of the biggest Achille's Heels of St. Louis all season, this road stretch also gives them the opportunity to turn that weakness into a strength. If the Blues can become as strong of a team on the road as they are at home, there may be no team in the playoffs that can stop them.

This stretch of road games is also important because of the seeding in the NHL playoffs. Although the Blues have not clinched a playoff spot yet, as one of the elite teams in the NHL, the Blues need more than a playoff spot; they also need a high seed.

By winning games on the road down the stretch, the Blues will be able to narrow the gap on Detroit and Vancouver in the standings, and ultimately improve their playoff seed.

These games on the road are must win games for the Blues if they want to be a strong Stanley Cup contender this year. By winning at Nashville on Thursday night the Blues were able to start off this difficult strange in a great way, and that makes Thursday night's win the biggest win of the season.

For the first time since December 3, 2011, the St. Louis Blues need to bounce back from a regulation loss at home. 

The Blues lost 4-2 to the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in regulation last night, and are back at it again tonight against Nashville. It's understandable that the streak was ended by the Bruins, but the Blues have to win tonight.

A loss would land a much bigger blow to the team than it would even a week ago. 

The Blues are currently 6-4 in their last 10 games, but the last two have been losses. Another loss tonight would tie the longest losing streak of the season at three. One week before the trade deadline is not the best time to have one of the season's longest losing streaks, especially when you are trying to fend off your divisional rivals.

Nashville is trending in the opposite direction of the Blues. The Predators are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games, winning their last two. A win against the Blues would put them one point behind them for the final playoff spot with home-ice advantage. The three-game winning streak would put them closer to passing their longest winning streak of five games. 

History does not favor the Blues at all either. So far, Nashville has won every meeting this season, with a plus-six goal differential. The Blues have not been able to solve Pekke Rinne, who has gotten the win in every game they have played against each other. As for Nashville, it doesn't matter who is in net, the Predators have been able to solve him. 

The Blues have been experiencing a swell of offense. In the last 10 games, the Blues have scored three-plus goals six times. The defense has also been stellar, allowing less than two goals in six of those 10. The last couple of games the Blues have faltered, but they look to get back on track against Nashville. 

The Blues are second in the Central Division; Nashville is in third. The Blues are currently in fourth in the Western Conference; Nashville is in fifth. If the season series were a playoff series, Nashville would have won in a sweep.

The Blues need to figure out how to win against Nashville in the regular season now, because it seems that the two are destined to meet in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

As David Perron sees it, the Blues have a tight-knit, fun-loving group of players that has faith in one another and a desire to deliver St. Louis its first Stanley Cup championship.

You don’t have to do much arm-twisting to get Perron, the 26th overall selection of the Blues in 2007, to talk about his teammates and their ultimate goal.

In fact, his one-word answer (“Awesome!”) to a text requesting a few minutes of his time to talk about the 2011-12 edition of the Western Conference squad tells you all you need to know about Perron’s enthusiastic outlook.

“What we have here is one group all pulling together to be successful,” said Perron, who had a memorable 2006-07 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season, leading the Lewiston Maineiacs in scoring with 39 goals and 83 points in 70 games played, as the club won the President's Cup and made it to the Memorial Cup.

“We have great leadership in guys like David Backes, Jason Arnott, Jamie Langenbrunner, Andy McDonald, Barret Jackman and more. When we execute and play as a group, things go well with us.”

And as Perron, who scored his first career goal against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 3, 2007, has discovered, teams around the league have taken notice of the Blues.

“When I talk to guys around the league that I know after we’ve played them, they always say we are a hard-working team, the type that you don’t like to play against,” said the 23-year-old left-winger, who hails from Sherbrooke, Quebec. “They are aware of us and that makes us feel good about what we’re trying to achieve.”

A slow start to the season and a coaching change didn’t derail the campaign as St. Louis finds itself in the upper tier of the West.

While they’re fortunes have turned around, Perron hasn’t seen a shift in attitude in the dressing room.

“We’re not the type to take anything for granted,” said the 6’0, 180-pound forward. “We see each game as a challenge. If we lose a game, Hitch (head coach, Ken Hitchcock) addresses what we need to do right away. We try to fix things right away. We’ll talk about it and move on to the next game. I think that speaks volumes about our leaders.”

You can bet his teammates are happy to have Perron back in the fold.

In November 2010, he suffered a severe concussion and missed the final 72 games that year, along with the first 25 games of the 2011-12 season, a total of 394 calendar days.

Perron made his return a memorable one, scoring on his first shot on goal against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, to be honest,” admitted Perron. “I figured I’d be a little bit rusty. I was a little rusty, but I remember it being better than I ever expected. I was able to make stuff happen. It was a lot of fun to be back out there again.”

The fun times don’t end on the ice, whether it’s games or morning practice.

“We play ping pong all the time and we have a chart to see who has the most wins,” offered Perron.

“Everyone is always laughing and making jokes. We have about five or six guys that are really good at ping pong. We’ll always look at the board to see the rankings of the guys. I’m definitely not in the top group, but it’s a way for us to have some fun and relax.”

With a balanced group from first line to fourth, a solid defensive corps and highly-capable goaltending, Perron hopes this is the year the Blues break through and make a serious Stanley Cup run.

“The chemistry is there and the will to do what it takes to win is also there, too,” he said. “For as much as we are happy with what we’ve done to this point, it’s far from over and we know what we have to do before we get to the playoffs. Sometimes it’s easy to look ahead, but we know we can’t do that.”

Instead, Perron and the rest of his teammates will continue to polish their individual games in pursuit of hockey’s top team prize.

“We’ll continue to challenge each other and we’ll continue to maintain our focus,” he noted.

Perron and his teammates will do all that and still find time to have fun along the way.

Related Content

Video: Meet the World's Toughest Directors - Player's Playbook
CBC Hockey Night in Canada/NHLPA Player Poll Results
Kevin Shattenkirk Proud of What The Blues Have Built

The St. Louis Blues are in a tight spot in the Central Division.

They trail Detroit by only five points, and have to hold back Nashville, whom only trail by five points. The team has been successful with the addition of Andy McDonald back in the line-up, but the teams state at the deadline was unclear.

Today, it has become clear the team needs to be buyers. 

The Blues reported earlier today that Jamie Langenbrunner was placed on the injured reserve list with a broken foot. He would be re-evaluated again in four weeks.

Langenbrunner is more known for his leadership qualities with the team rather than putting up big numbers. Through 57 games he has 21 points,which is still good for 10th best on the team. However, Langenbrunner is one of now three starting forwards on IR.

Alex Steen sustained a concussion on December 27, 2011, and has been skating with the team, but he is still a far way off before returning to the club. Steen had 24 points through 36 games, which still has him in 8th in scoring on the Blues. His leadership is also being missed on the team as he is an alternate captain.

Matt D'Agostini has only recently been bitten by the injury bug, receiving a concussion on February 7, 2012. D'Agostini is known for being a two-way player and a gritty player that isn't afraid to sacrifice his body to put a rebound in the back of the net. 

With all of these injuries to the Blues, they must go after one player to add not only depth but also skill. The Blues cannot afford to be sending AHL players to compete in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

The Blues should go after Olli Jokinen.

Jokinen is 33 years old, with 49 points through 59 games. He is currently in the second half of a two-year, $6 million contract. This would purely be a rental for the Blues, but that is all that they need.

The Blues need someone that can fill the void that these three players are leaving, and Jokinen seems to be the answer. The Blues would give a packaged deal to the Flames, centering around Ben Bishop, whom is all but gone at this point.

The Blues missed the playoffs last year because of the injury bug. While this year it would be highly unlikely the Blues will miss the playoffs, the bug could hurt their chances of making a run.

The Blues need to grab Olli Jokinen or another pure goal scorer to take the place of those that have fallen and will give them the final piece to put together what could be a fantastic Stanley Cup Run. 

Although it seems as if Rick Nash does not have a strong interest in coming to St. Louis, the Blues could definitely put together a very strong package that could entice the Blue Jackets to pull the trigger. Of course, the Blue Jackets would also need Nash to waive his no-trade clause in order for the deal to be finalized.

From the Blues' perspective, they would want Nash because he can score goals for an offense that has been deflated for much of the season. The Blues have made significant strides in improving their offense over the last few games, but a 2-1 loss to Columbus earlier this week showed that the offense is not entirely on track yet. The Blues could definitely use another goal-scorer to help boost their offensive attack.

From the Blue Jackets' perspective, the season has been an absolute disaster. I do not think the Blue Jackets are quite as bad as their record indicates though. The team is in the Central Division of the NHL, which may be one of the toughest divisions that any sport has seen in some time. By trading Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets could free up some major cap space and bring in a number of prospects to help their team continue to rebuild.

If at some point over the next week Nash does express an interest in being traded to St. Louis, the Blues could meet the expectations for what Columbus wants for their captain.

Obviously, to acquire Nash, it would take a massive deal. The Blue Jackets are reportedly interested in acquiring help at basically every position. They want a goalie, they want forwards and they want defensemen.

The Blues could offer them all of this.

At the goalie position, the Blues are currently set. Brian Elliot and Jaroslav Halak have formed the best one-two punch in the NHL and have anchored the Blues' No. 1-ranked defense. The Blues also have two outstanding goalies, Ben Bishop and Jake Allen, who are playing with their minor league affiliate the Peoria Rivermen. The Blues would obviously want to keep at least one of these guys, but they could afford to send one of them away in a deal for Nash.

At the forward position, the Blues likely only have one player on their roster they would be willing to trade: Chris Stewart. Stewart is only 24 years old but has not lived up to any of his expectations in St. Louis this season. Blues Coach Ken Hitchcock recently demoted Stewart to the fourth line because he did not see him working hard enough.

The Blues also have some forwards and centers in Peoria that could possibly be dealt in a deal for Rick Nash. The most notable players of this group are center T.J. Hensick and left-winger Brett Sterling. Hensick has 19 goals and 45 assists on the season for Peoria while Sterling has 21 goals and 23 assists for the Rivermen. The Blues could throw in one or maybe even both players in a trade package.

Finally, the Blues could offer the Jackets some solid defensive prospects. The top prospect the Blues could offer on defense is Cade Fairchild. Fairchild has racked up six goals and 21 assists this season for Peoria and could be a great prospect for the Blues to deal away.

Just like at the goalie position, the Blues are extremely strong at the defenseman position as well, and it could be hard for a young prospect to make the pro team. Some other prospects the Blues could use in a trade include Danny Syvret, Brett Ponich and Ian Cole.

In my opinion, there are not many teams who could put together a stronger package for Rick Nash than the St. Louis Blues can. Now all we can do is wait and see if the Blues can get a deal done for Nash or for another top player in the league.