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St. Louis Blues: Grading Blues Performances In October

By Jason Martin

ST. LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 27: Zach Sanford #12 of the St. Louis Blues is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks at Enterprise Center on October 27, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 27: Zach Sanford #12 of the St. Louis Blues is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks at Enterprise Center on October 27, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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St. Louis Blues
ST. LOUIS, MO – OCTOBER 04: St. Louis Blues’ Alex Pietrangelo takes a shot during the second period of an NHL hockey game between the St. Louis Blues and the Winnipeg Jets on October 4, 2018, at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Tim Spyers/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Alex Pietrangelo

Grade: D+

Pietrangelo has not been great, and he is in the middle of possibly the worst stretch of hockey in his entire career. Like many captains in the NHL, Pietrangelo has a huge burden placed upon him every night he takes the ice.

Being the captain of the St. Louis Blues is a unique responsibility, and the leadership of Petro is often questioned. From what I have seen of Pietrangelo, he leads by example on the ice. You won’t see him address the media very often, but you can see him teaching the young players on the ice while playing fundamental hockey.

Unfortunately, this has not been the case this season. Pietrangelo has not played well for the Blues so far this season. He only has one goal (on an empty net) and is a team-low -8 on the ice.

With how young and inexperienced the Blues defensive core is, Pietrangelo needs to step his game up on the ice. He is still going to lead the team in minutes and rightfully so, but he needs to start playing better.

Giving the captain of your team a D+ is not ideal. However, given Pietrangelo’s stats and performance to start the season, he has not earned a better grade. Like Tarasenko, he will need to to be the Pietrangelo of old if he and the Blues want to get back on track.

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