St. Louis Blues Morning Links: No Poutine For You

Good morning Blues fans! The Blues finally returned home after 12 days on the road and five games. Not too much changed with the venue.

The St. Louis Blues have been on the road so much here lately that the 7 p.m. start time almost felt strange. Seeing them wear their home uniforms almost looked odd. Almost.

Other than a few things here or there though, not much changed with the venue. When the final buzzer sounded, the Blues were victorious as they have been in so many games recently.

St. Louis has won four games in a row and nine of their last ten. Even better has been the scoring.

The Blues have averaged 3.3 goals in those ten games. That average would be even higher if not for a couple 2-1 decisions mixed in there.

What becomes even more impressive about the scoring and the winning is the Blues have done it at less than 100%. During this stretch they’ve been without Robby Fabbri, Jori Lehtera, Dmitirj Jaskin and Paul Stastny.

Say what you will about any of those guys, as we all know each one has their own group of detractors. They were all names the Blues were counting on coming into this season though.

What has been so impressive about this turnaround, or maddening for some of us, is the return to form from last season. Whether it is Ken Hitchcock’s absence or Mike Yeo’s affect on the team, they are playing much more like 2015-16 than what happened in 2016-17 in the middle.

They are playing for and with each other. They have that next-man-up mentality as we have seen with the injuries.

St. Louis is getting everyone to pitch in, including guys we all figured were lost causes. Magnus Paajarvi, of all people is even chipping in.

Paajarvi has eight goals this season. Four of those have come in the last six games, including two scored against the Vancouver Canucks in the Blues 4-1 win.

St. Louis also got a goal from Kyle Brodziak in that game. He is not exactly known as a scorer these days, but the Blues fourth line has probably been their best line the entire season.

St. Louis will need their top players to perform once the playoffs roll around. As we saw last season, you have to depend on your big guns to lead you once the games come fast and heavy and you see the same team seven times in ten nights.

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However, for a late season game, it is nice to not have to rely on them for everything. If you can get third and fourth liners to step up, a big game from a forgotten man or the prospects to perform, then you’re in business.

The Blues need to keep denying the poutine to their neighbors to the north though. The Blues next face the Calgary Flames in an important contest.

The Flames have been just as hot, if not hotter than St. Louis. A win would leap frog the Blues over the Flames, giving the Blues the edge for the final wild card even if they ever fall behind Nashville.

For now though, it is comfortable to say the Blues actually do need to focus more on themselves than potential playoff opponents. That would have been unthinkable to say a month ago, but sports turn so quickly.

Here are your St. Louis Blues Morning Links to get your day started off right.

Paajarvi has been a pleasant surprise from the fans’ perspective. As far as his teammates are concerned, they see it as reward for work already put in. If that is true, perhaps we can hope to see more from him this season. (STLToday)

Zach Sanford has had little time to settle into St. Louis, both literally and figuratively. Being on the road allowed him to become ingratiated with the team. Now with the team at home, he can finally try to make himself feel at home in his home. (Post-Dispatch)

St. Louis is known for the Blues and for rhythm and blues music. So, it came as no surprise when the team honored the late Chuck Berry. For those not fortunate enough to attend the game, there is a little video clip of the performance. (Fox2)

It’s been a long time since anyone considered the Toronto Maple Leafs a threat or even a good team. That has quickly changed with the coaching staff and an influx of young talent. Now, even the hard to please Leafs fan has reason to believe. (NHL)

Usually the league and players don’t get into contentious fights until the CBA is up. While that should not be for another two or three years, there might be a battle brewing over whether the players can go to the Olympics or not as neither side seems to want to budge. (ESPN)

Have a great day Blues fans!