Hallelujah! For just the second time in the last eight years, the St. Louis Blues are in the National Hockey League playoffs (one entire season was canceled because of an impasse between ownership and players). And, since their other recent playoff entry resulted in first-round elimination in four quick games, the Note is after its first non-regular season victory since 2004, when they managed one lonely triumph.
Of course, it wasn’t always this bleak. The Blues went to the Stanley Cup finals in each of their first three seasons, when the NHL’s division of six new teams sent its playoff champion up against the winner of the established six-team conference. Alas, the Blues went 0-12 in those three tournaments against Montreal (twice) and Boston, successively.
The Blues actually made the playoffs nearly every year in their history from 1967 to 2004 before the hard times really hit. Now, with the arrival of Ken Hitchcock as coach as an early-season replacement for Davis Payne, the Blues are steaming into the playoffs with one of the best records in all of the NHL.
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They finished with 109 points, just two behind the league-best 111 of the Vancouver Canucks. As a result, they are seeded second in the opening round of the conference playoffs, squaring off against the seventh-seeded San Jose Sharks, a team they defeated four times in the regular season.
Looking over club statistics, it’s interesting to observe that the Blues seem to be a team rather than a collection of a few superstars and some also-rans. Center David Backes and right wing T.J. Oshie led the team with 54 points, just three ahead of defenseman Alex Petrangelo. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, left wing David Perron and center Patrick Berglund weren’t far behind with 43, 42 and 38 points, respectively.
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In goal, Brian Elliott achieved an impressive 1.56 goals-against average in 36 starts, while his colleague Jaroslav Halak crafted his own sterling 1.97 average in starting the other 46 games.
One statistic that should prove telling in post-season is the Blues’ lack of success in shoot-outs, most of which they lost this year. Fortunately for the Note, shoot-outs are non-existent in the post-season, as two competitors continue to battle in overtime until a winner emerges with a sudden-death goal. Shootouts are more a testament to a goalie’s ability to stop a breakaway or a player benefiting from a technical shot than skill against an entire team.
Hitchcock came in early this season and quickly established the fact that the Blues would be a team and not a launching pad for individual stats and stardom. That philosophy worked wonders on the ice and didn’t hurt at the ticket windows, either, as fans regularly packed Scotttrade Center to watch their heroes play smart, tough hockey against the best and brightest teams in the National Hockey League.
Hitchcock won a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars, so he knows how to get the job done. With the Blues responding to his disciplined approach to team play and his knowledge of the game, it should be great fun seeing how far the 2011-12 edition of our local hockey club can go in its quest for its first-ever hoisting of Lord Stanley’s Cup. Go, Blues!
Evan Makovsky
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