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St. Louis Blues Playoffs Push: Five Key Players

By Kate Cimini |
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Soon, we’ll enter the NHL postseason. That magical time of year when you’re either screaming at your team, curled up in a ball in a dark room, or screaming for your team. There’s really no other option for hardcore fans.

With St. Louis in the second place in the Western Conference and first in the Central Division at 97 points at the time of writing, barring some horrendous misfortune the Blues will most likely see a seat in the playoffs. They are one of the top five team in the often-lauded Western Conference, and have been for several years.

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Despite their regular-season success, it’s been two years since they even made it out of the first round, and three years since they lost to anyone but the Blackhawks or Kings in the postseason. The Blues have put together a great team this year and are counting on them to bring them to the post and beyond.

While the playoffs are a great show they’re not the ultimate goal; a Cup is. And as the Blues continue down their road to the Finals, they’re relying on a small number of players to be there for them.

But who?

Next: Number five is...

Sep 22, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; St. Louis Blues center Patrik Berglund (21) watches from the bench during the game against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Blues 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

No. 5: Patrik Berglund

3C Patrik Berglund is a polarizing player for Blues fans because his points production is one of the lowest among the Blues forwards and his cap hit is, uh…pretty high.

But points are not where Berglund’s skill lies. Patrik Berglund is an amazing defensive forward, and his numbers prove it time and time again.

To understand Berglund’s style of play better, we have to look at his fancy stats. Specifically, his Corsi Rel. For those who aren’t versed in Corsi (or SAT as the NHL now refers to it), Coris is simply a gussied-up plus/minus stat: it measures shot attempts (on net, missed, or blocked) on the opposition’s net as well as the player’s own net when said player is on the ice. Corsi/SAT Rel is more telling with regards to how a team fares with or without a player; Corsi/SAT Rel takes the player’s Corsi/SAT takes that and subtracts the team’s Corsi/SAT when said player is not on the ice. Essentially, it tells us whether the player contributes to offensive play or is a detriment when it comes to allowing shots on their own goal.

When it comes to Corsi/SAT Rel, Patrik Berglund is a marvel at creating offensive chances and stopping all kinds of shots (blocked, missed, or on-net) on his team’s goal. As you can see from this fantastic graphic from War-on-ice, he does this while taking a decent number of starts in the defensive zone, showing his skill at creating opportunities.

Berglund Corsi: graph from war-on-ice

Berglund comes in with a Corsi/SAT Rel of 5.4, the highest out of the Blues, aside from Jaskin and Bortuzzo who have played significantly fewer Blues games than Berglund has. All this while producing only 20 points himself. To give you an idea of the immensity of that accomplishment, the next two-highest Corsi/SAT Rels are held by Tarasenko and Shattenkirk, the former of whom has 70 points to his name for the season, and the latter of whom has 40, twice that of Berglund. It’s a lot easier to improve your Corsi/SAT when you’re the one taking shots on goal. It’s significantly more impressive, however, when you’re doing it the way Berglund is: by creating opportunities for other players while preventing entries into your defensive zone.

Berglund’s ability to give other players the chance to score is hard to measure visually, but will be important in these last few weeks and come playoffs time. But who else will Hitch and the Blues rely on to bring them out of the first round and hopefully even further?

Next: Number Four is....

Mar 17, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) makes a save as Calgary Flames left wing Johnny Gaudreau (13) tries to score during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

No. 4: Brian Elliott

Elliott has been such a strong figure in goalie for the past few months that it’s easy to forget he was absent for all of December, and spent a good part of January getting back on his feet after his injury early in the season.

Elliott’s style prizes efficiency over flash, and it’s worked well for St. Louis.

He’s been staunchly committed to the Blues, and while he’s had a bad game or two over the season, he sits at 15th in the league for goalies with an average sv% of .921, just below Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask. Rask might have more starts and wins than Elliott, but Elliott is batting over .500 for wins (something Rask cannot say) and is top five in the league for his goals-against average of 2.16, coming in only behind Price, Rinne, Dubnyk and Talbot.

Elliott is having one of the best seasons of his career; only in the 2011-12 and 2013-14 seasons did he boast a higher save percentage (.922 over 31 games and .940 over 24 games). Injury and all, he’s already surpassed the number of games he played in each of those seasons. While Jake Allen stepped up for the Blues while Elliott was recuperating from his knee injury, he won’t be the goalie of record heading into the postseason.

Allen’s record is not quite as impressive at .906 over 32 games, and if the Blues can give him more time to develop, they should. With Elliott in goal and Allen as his back-up, they’re sitting pretty.

Next: Number Three: Your Favorite Defenseman...

Jan 30, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defensemen Ryan Murphy (7) is stopped with the puck by the St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko (91) and teammate defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk (22) in the overtime at PNC Arena. The St. Louis Blues defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in a shoot out. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

No. 3: Kevin Shattenkirk

Kevin Shattenkirk is one of the top defenders in the league, and the best Blues defenseman, period. His offensive style means he consistently produces points for the Blues while his defensive positioning keeps his Corsi/SAT high. Don’t just take my word for it; check his stats out.

Shattenkirk is one of their top guys on the Blues power play unit, earning 60% of his goals while out on the PP. Not only is he a top-scoring defenseman for St. Louis, he’s still in the top five in the NHL for power play points among defensemen and he’s been on IR since early February.

He had surgery shortly after his awkward fall against the Capitals’ captain, Ovechkin and began skating again in the last couple of weeks. The Blues have told the media Shattenkirk will return to the ice soon, some even pegging the end of March as a soft return date. What will actually happen is anyone’s guess, but the Blues are sure to roll Shattenkirk out on the ice before April 15th.

St. Louis hasn’t been lost without Shattenkirk at the blue line, and very smartly picked up two strong defensemen, Bortuzzo and Michalek, at deadline. However his re-addition to the team will make for stronger offense and improved puck possession in the back end.

Getting Shattenkirk back on his feet in the regular season will give him time to adjust to play while hopefully giving the Blues a little extra in the tank when it comes maintaining their place in the standings.

Next: Number Two: David Backes

Mar 15, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars center Vernon Fiddler (38) and St. Louis Blues center David Backes (42) exchange words during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Blues shut out the Stars 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

No. 2: David Backes

Backes is not a Sidney Crosby in points or ability, but he doesn’t need to be. (And if he were, St. Louis would be a very different place, financially.)

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There is no doubt that Backes is one of the linchpins of the Blues; a quick glance at the stats over the past five years show Backes consistently leading in the points race as well as PIM. This year, Backes currently sits at no. 4 in points with 53, the lowest he’s been since the 2007-08 season, when he came in at no. 7, totaling only 31 points.  His points aren’t slipping, however; his teammates are rising to the occasion and scoring more goals.

He is the essence of the St. Louis Blues style. Backes is one of the hardest-working players in the NHL, making sure to finish every check, look for every possibility out on the ice and rush the net as often as he can.

He’s mastered the tip-in and consistently puts himself in the toughest spot in the offensive zone: smack-dab in the middle of the slot, where he has the best chance of netting a tip-in or rebound, and of getting smacked around by the opposing defense. His staunch determination to give each game his all is why the Blues have built their team around his on-ice leadership.

This team would not have made the postseason for the past few years if it weren’t for Backes’ contributions to the team. Even if he’s hit his peak as a point-scoring forward, he hasn’t exhausted himself as a captain or motivator. We’ll see some excellent things out of him in the post.

Next: Number One?

Feb 20, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) as seen waiting for a face-off during the second period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

No. 1: Vladimir Tarasenko

Vladimir Tarasenko has been a scoring dyanmo this season for the St. Louis Blues, leading the charge with 70 points at the time of this writing and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down any time soon.

And as we are constantly reminded, there’s no chance of winning if you simply cannot score more goals than your opponent. That’s where Tarasenko comes in.

He is fourth in the league for goals at 35 for the season so far, fifth in the league for +/- at 29, and that insane amount of points has netted him the position of 6th in the NHL, behind the likes of Crosby, Ovechkin and Tavares.

St. Louis is making the most of Tarasenko’s improved scoring ability, having found the perfect center to pair with him, like the front office was hunting around at a wine-and-cheese party. Their finickiness, however, has clearly born fruit when you consider his two previous seasons with the Blues and his subsequent points totals.

Tarasenko is one of the key components to St. Louis’ success on the ice, and every goal he nets will continue to push them towards a second-, third- and fourth-round playoff berth.

Next: St. Louis Blues 2015 NHL Mock Draft

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