On Sunday night, the St. Louis Blues dismantled the Anaheim Ducks, 7-2. There was plenty of everything, from pure domination from the Blues to fisticuffs, it was a complete team effort in the victory.
Recently, the Blues have started to thrive in one area of the game that has been a hindrance throughout the 2024-25 season. That being, the powerplay. Their recent success with the man-advantage should be a key focal point if the Blues make it into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Let's discuss.
Powerplay is clicking at just the right time
Throughout this season, the powerplay was not fantastic. There were dry spells, questionable line combos and understandably bad decision-making all around in the one area of the game that would benefit the Blues the most. But, the last three games have shown a different side of that story, as the powerplay has finally started to turn, right before driving into the sunset of the playoffs.
The past three games have seen the Blues with the man advantage on nine occassions. They have registered a goal on five of those chances. That is incredibly good considering their season average is at 20.1%. Five for nine equates out to 55.6% on the powerplay, which has helped benefit the Blues to wins in two of the three games.
How has it gotten better?
The Blues powerplay percentage has taken a turn for the better due to one simple thing. They are shooting the puck, very often. Take, for example, Sunday's beatdown of Anaheim of 7-2. The Blues scored three of those seven goals on the powerplay and registered seven shots on goal on the five chances. That is efficiency, with a positive outcome.
The Scoring has also come from different names. Dylan Holloway has two powerplay goals in the last three games, Zack Bolduc has a goal as well. Add in Jake Neighbours and Oskar Sundqvist for the remaining two goals and that is some serious variety there. Finally, it isn't the top guys of Brayden Schenn, Jordan Kyrou, or Robert Thomas doing the heavy lifting.
The right players are scoring the right goals at the right time. With the playoffs around the corner, the Blues need every point they can get right now. The powerplay's success will play a huge role in that.