St. Louis Blues: How Did The Blues Get Back In The Race? Confidence
With confidence, the St. Louis Blues stormed back into the playoff hunt this past week, but some are still wondering what changed to make this happen.
There are the well-charted on-ice changes for the St. Louis with Vladimir Tarasenko finding his scoring touch again, scoring from multiple lines, solid d-zone play, Jordan Binnington, and Jay Bouwmeester‘s transformation from defensive liability to an asset for examples. Confidence was the catalyst for these changes.
The first was the firing of head coach Mike Yeo. Something that should have happened over the summer so that the new coach could have time during camp to install his system and prepare the players. It took Craig Berube a month to do this and change the negative locker room culture. The latter being a massive step in the right direction for the team.
Next was the goalie from out of nowhere. Binnington had been unspectacular in the few relief appearances for Jake Allen but then burst onto the scene with a shutout in his first start and hasn’t looked back. If not for a bad bounce off Alex Pietrangelo‘s skate he would have had three shutouts to start his career.
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Back to what I mentioned before; about Berube installing a new system and attitude on the ice when taking over the reins. The Blues are scoring goals from the dirty part of the ice now, where before they were not.
They are taking the body in the d-zone and following through with their checks in all zones. Just ask Nazem Kadri.
Vladimir Tarasenko looks like the Vlady of old and is scoring goals and points at a prodigious pace right now. Even Bouwmeester looks like he has turned back the clock a couple of years. While I think both of them returned more injured at the beginning than the team let on, that by itself doesn’t explain the Lazarus-like turnaround.
These changes all have combined to turn the once self-described fragile Blues into a confident team with swagger. Even if their choice of victory song is a little iffy, but whatever works. You don’t mess with a streak nor when you are playing the best hockey in the NHL since the new year.
St. Louis knows that every d-zone mistake is not going to end up in the net, much like last year when Carter Hutton was in goal. The D can jump up and join the fray in the offensive zone without fear of a catastrophic odd man rush the other way.
This had led the Blues defensemen to lead the league in scoring since turning the calendar on 2018. This scoring has a trickle-down effect on the other offensive lines, that does not have Tarasenko or Ryan O’Reilly on them, by taking the pressure of them to produce.
The Sanford and Sun line ( Zach Sanford, Oskar Sundqvist, and Pat Maroon) have taken full advantage and are very productive for a third line that doesn’t get as much time as the top two lines. Even the fourth line is contributing offensively and playing well overall and with confidence.
*Random thought: If Sanford and Sundquist are Sanford and Sun does that make Maroon Grady Wilson? Fred Sanford’s best friend on the show. Look it up if you are too young to remember.
Berube is making a case for his nomination for the Jack Adams award with the near-miraculous turn around of this team. He took them from last in the NHL to being currently ranked 14 overall in a couple of months. Just by instilling confidence in themselves and their teammates.
The latter part of that last sentence being the most important. Everybody knew the team had a bunch of individual talent, but the new additions, the returning core of players, and the young additions were not meshing. At times there was outright fights and a lot of lockerroom tension, but that is long gone now, just ask “Gloria”.
They are playing for each other and stepping up for their teammates when needed. The confidence has combined with the newfound camaraderie as a catalyst for the franchise record 11 game winning streak. It also has brought confidence and swagger to the Blues faithful.