How Will Lindbohm Help The St. Louis Blues Offense?
By Kate Cimini
When the St. Louis Blues called up Petteri Lindbohm two days ago they were clearly thinking ahead to the trade deadline.
With March 2nd looming ahead, the Blues need to know where they stand in regards to what, exactly, their team needs and prepare their front office to make the right moves. Bringing Lindbohm back up from the Wolves (he last played with the Blues for an eighth-game stretch in December) gives St. Louis a chance to see what holes they might be able to fill without looking outside their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
He’ll Shore Up The Defense…
Kevin Shattenkirk is down, and has been for three long weeks since that February 1st game against the Washington Capitals. Our own A.P. Andes connected Shattenkirk to higher offensive production, demonstrating my favorite saying: good offense comes from good defense.
Next: Blues Face Scoring, Depth Challenges
With Shattenkirk out, Hitchcock has been shuffling the D pairings around more frequently than usual, trying to figure out the best configuration to give his forwards that offensive boost from behind while still aiming for a shut-down defensive game.
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I say “aiming for” because the St. Louis Blues are an excellent, physical team, but are eighth in the NHL in goals against, allowing 2.44 goals per game, behind Montreal, Chicago, Nashville, Detroit, Washington, New York (Rangers) and Pittsburgh. They are a full point behind the Islanders in the standings, who aren’t even in the top twenty teams when it comes to goals against allowed.
Lindbohm is large, standing at 6’3″ and 198 lbs, according to the Blues’ website although Elite Prospects has him at 209 lbs. Regardless, he’s a strong defender with a good net-front presence. His stats aren’t the least bit impressive, but basic stats don’t always tell the whole story. Lindholm may not have netted too many goals for the Blues, but one rarely went in on his shifts. In eight games during December he earned one assist, was on the ice for one goal for St. Louis and saw two goals go in for the opposition (Dallas), while regularly logging more than ten minutes per night.
To put that in perspective, over Gunnarsson’s last four games, in which he logged approximately 80 minutes, he scored an assist, saw one shot go in for the opposition (also Dallas) and was on the ice for two goals.
This is not to place one defender over the other, as they are at completely different steps in their careers, but rather to demonstrate that while Lindholm is not offensively productive for St. Louis just yet, he is far from a detriment to play.
Graph from
. Top of graph reads: Fraction of Off. v. Def. Zone Starts, Relative vs 60/TOI of Competition, Colored by Relative Corsi For Percentage of Total, Sized by Time On Ice Per Game.
While Gunnarsson is on the ice for more goals for, he is also logging twice the ice time of Lindbohm which makes his feats more impressive, considering Hitchcock’s tendency to put Gunnarsson on for shifts that begin in the defensive zone.
…And In Doing So, Improve Offense
Our sister site, Arch Authority, wrote on the intangibles Lindbohm brings to the game back in December.
"“If you look at Big Pete’s stats over his six games in the NHL, you won’t find much. There isn’t anything. What you can’t find on any stat sheet is his defensive presence, his grit, and his dedication. Lindbohm is hard-working and has great defensive awareness. He’s rapidly gained my trust in front of the netminder. He collapses in and covers the front of the net very well and is not afraid to block a shot. In other words, he does his job well.”"
Additionally, when looking at Lindbohm’s NHL performance, we have to keep in mind said player’s youth. At 21 years of age, he is just starting to break into the NHL, and is pretty much right on par with standard defenseman development.
Average age of rookie defenders in the NHL (graph from
)
It would not be wise to expect him to burst into the NHL and begin to rack up points; it is rare that rookies can pull that off, and even rarer when they’re adjusting to North American ice.
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Lindbohm’s overseas experience may work against him at first, as the ice in Europe is significantly larger, stretching the game out physically. His time in the AHL would have given him time to adjust, and his stats certainly reflect that. He’s had six goals and eleven assists, which speak to his ability to turn on the offense when he has the opportunity.
Over the past 41 games with the Wolves Lindbohm has earned the second-most points of all defenders, and in ten fewer games than the leading points-earning defender, Brent Regner.
All of this speaks to a player who is still developing, but could be a great asset to the Blues next season. We may not see a lot of points out of Lindbohm right now, but shutting down opponents in front of Elliott or Allen could be the key to offensive production for the Blues right now.
And, of course, give St. Louis a boost on that pesky goals-against stat.