St. Louis Blues Three Stars Of The Month (October)

Although the St. Louis Blues as a team got off to a slow start to begin the year, there are some individuals that stood out to earn our 3 stars of the month.

There are not many teams that have fewer points than the St. Louis Blues. Even though the team has struggled this season, there are signs that there may be light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel.

The first installment of the 3 stars of the month is hopefully the last month where the players were easy to choose from. So many Blues underperformed in the first month of the season, so it was easy to pick out the best three.

3rd Star: Brayden Schenn

Schenn took a couple of games to get going this year, held off the scoresheet for the first two games of the season and had just three shots during the first two games against the Jets and Blackhawks.

Schenner really turned it around after a slow start. He busted out of his two-game slump to start the year with a three-point game against the Calgary Flames and then followed that up with a two-goal performance against the Blackhawks in Chicago.

Schenn would go on to record four points in his final six games of the month but started to look like the Schenn of  2017 when Mike Yeo switched up the lines and paired him with Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko.

What was impressive of Schenn’s performance in October besides the number of points he put up, was his production on the faceoff circle. On the season, Schenn has won 53% of his faceoffs and has been relied upon just as much as Ryan O’Reilly.

2nd Star: David Perron

Perron returned to St. Louis (again), and it did not take him long to get back to the form he was in with the Vegas Golden Knights when he recorded 66 points.

Like Schenn, (and the rest of the Blues) he was held off the board for the first two games of the season but turned the corner against the Calgary Flames by scoring three goals four his fourth career hat trick.

He would go on to add another goal on the powerplay on the following day against Chicago. This was his third powerplay goal of the month which would tie Tarasenko for the team lead.

Perron’s play with O’Reilly and Zach Sanford has given the Blues two top lines for the first time in many years. If the Blues want to turn the season around, Perron will need to be a key contributor.

Perron recorded a point in six of the team’s first ten games of the season including five of his last six and was a natural choice for the team’s second star of the month.

1st Star: Ryan O’Reilly

If this comes as a surprise to you, then I’m not even sure you’re watching the games. O’Reilly has been far and away the best player for the Blues to start the season. He has excelled in every single area on the ice, and it looks like the Blues stole him away from Buffalo

The team leader in points, O’Reilly has come as advertised for the St. Louis Blues and he has been the team’s number one center all season. O’Reilly plays the powerplay, penalty kill, and he takes faceoffs in his own end and the opponents. He is the swiss army knife that every team wishes they had, and the Blues have him for five more seasons.

He has recorded points in five straight games including goals in three of his last four and has led the Blues to better performances. O’Reilly is yet to record a powerplay goal but has assisted on six goals with the man advantage this season.

Coming into the season, we knew O’Reilly excelled on faceoffs, but not this much. O’Reilly is a ridiculous 62% on faceoffs which far and away leads the team. He is on the ice for every major moment of the game and seems never to lose a faceoff in a critical situation.

The decision to make O’Reilly the first star of the month will probably be the easiest decision all year. Ideally, the Tarasenko’s and Schwartz’s of the team would step up and take on of these spots, but O’Reilly has done wonders for St. Louis this year.

The team did not play well at all in October, but these three players gives fans some hope that the season will turn around soon and the Blues will be the force in the West that we all expected.