St. Louis Blues: Will They Even Make The Playoffs?
Times have certainly hit the St. Louis Blues hard since the Winter Classic. So much that a sixth straight bid in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs could be in jeopardy.
The St. Louis Blues followed up their first outdoor hockey game with just three victories over the past nine games. Within that same span, the Blues have compiled the smallest amount of points (six) among teams currently in a playoff spot and have dropped to a tie for the Western Conference’s first wild card seed as a result.
Needless to say, the Blues could benefit from an upcoming five-day hiatus through All-Star weekend. But St. Louis still plays a pair of games before this checkpoint, which will put the Blues on pace to have played more games than over half of the league.
With 51 points over 47 games, the Blues find themselves on the cusp of the playoff bubble. It’s unfamiliar territory for head coach Ken Hitchcock, who has led St. Louis to five straight playoff births since taking over. He has also only missed playoffs once in 13 full, 82-game seasons as a head coach.
Plenty of questions remain as the Blues draw closer to All-Star break. How might Jake Allen rebound from a prolonged mental slump? Will the Blues get consistent offensive production behind Vladimir Tarasenko? Does the team plan on buying or selling at the trade deadline?
These answers may not be clear immediately, but there are external factors that could present challenges to St. Louis’s mission for playoffs. One of the most notable factors revolves around an increasingly improving Central Division.
If these trends persist, St. Louis’s postseason chances rely primarily on the Wild Card. That’s a more difficult seal considering that six teams stand within a span of five points for these spots, including division foes Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets.
Another intriguing aspect involves the construction of the Blues remaining schedule. In particular, St. Louis only has four more multi-game homestands and five sets of back-to-back games, conditions that have offered St. Louis mixed result throughout the 2016-17 campaign.
The silver lining through this development could be the quality of opponents. Nearly 63 percent of the Blues post-January games are scheduled against teams not on pace to make playoffs. This includes a combined seven games against the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche, the only two teams without 40 points thus far.
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This potentially favorable setup will not matter unless more players begin to exceed expectations. There are reasons to be both optimistic and concerned about the current level of production from the forwards, defensemen and goaltenders.
If St. Louis continues to perform at its current seasonal pace, the Blues will finish up with about 89 points, which would mark would be the team’s lowest in an 82-game season under Ken Hitchcock.
By no means would this rate guarantee playoffs either, as only one of last year’s playoff teams finished with fewer points than St. Louis’s projected total.
The Blues are certainly in control of their own destiny, and the upcoming results could serve as a prelude of what will come in the franchise’s 50th anniversary season. As an old adage goes, don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Blues fans.
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