Bleedin' Blue
Fansided

St. Louis Blues: First Line Offense Overshadows Bad Defense

By Tyler Andrus

UNIONDALE, NY - OCTOBER 14: New York Islanders Center Mathew Barzal (13) skates with the puck with St. Louis Blues Center Brayden Schenn (10) defending during the third period of the game between the St. Louis Blues and the New York Islanders on October 14, 2019, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NY - OCTOBER 14: New York Islanders Center Mathew Barzal (13) skates with the puck with St. Louis Blues Center Brayden Schenn (10) defending during the third period of the game between the St. Louis Blues and the New York Islanders on October 14, 2019, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The St. Louis Blues are off to a somewhat disappointing start to begin the 2019-20 campaign, losing the last two games of their recent road trip, including the heartbreaking loss against the New York Islanders. While there are many things for the team to be proud of, the first line defense has been problematic through six games.

Before you freak out and comment on this article, let me begin by saying that I am not hitting the panic button on the St. Louis Blues. Nobody should be sounding the alarm on this team six games into the season.

With that being said, the defensive play of first-line forwards Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn, and Vladimir Tarasenko has been dreadful. For all the offense that they have provided the team early in the year, their defense has been equally as bad.

Newly resigned, Brayden Schenn came out of the gates after his extension and lit up the scoreboard, gathering seven points in six games (5 G, 2 A).

More from Editorials

There have been tons of hype surrounding this player’s start, but what people look over is the -4. He has more points than games played but has been on the ice for four more goals against.

Vladimir Tarasenko finally found the back of the net against the Islanders and has a respectable five points on the year but pairs it with a -5. Jaden Schwartz is more of the same with four points and a -3.

An even deeper look into the numbers shows us that the on-ice save percentage of these guys is out of this world awful.

So far this year, Blues goalies have a save percentage of 81.4 percent when Schenn is on the ice, 78.9 percent with Tarasenko, and 83.3 percent with Schwartz. This tells me that they are leaving their netminder out to dry with some strong scoring chances.

What is even crazier is that all three of their offensive zone start percentages are favorable. This means that they are starting in the offensive zone more often than not, but they still find a way to give up a goal.

In comparison, both Tarasenko and Schenn posted positives in the plus/minus category, and all three guys had on-ice save percentages around 90 percent last season. These guys are known by their offense for sure, but come on, this season’s defense has been atrocious.

Next. St. Louis Blues Should Not Overpay Alex Pietrangelo. dark

I highly doubt that this shoddy defense will continue from these studs all year, but it is a trend that I think that the Blues and we as fans should keep an eye on.

Maybe they are pressing too hard on the forecheck or have caught some unlucky breaks. I get it, it’s only six games into the season. However, if the defense remains this porous, St. Louis could be in a lot more trouble than an unflattering start to the season.

Home/Editorials