It is not a secret that the Blues' goaltenders have been two of the worst in the league up to this point in the season. However, this week saw some of the best play between the pipes for St. Louis thus far. Joe Hofer was able to cap off the week with a clutch shutout to secure a 1-0 victory for the Blues over the Utah Mammoth, a division rival and a team that has had St. Louis' number in recent years.
Hofer's poor start
Hofer started the year excellently, with a win against the Flames in which he put up a .931 save percentage. Unfortunately, his next three games were some of the worst Blues fans have ever seen out of the young netminder. Save percentages of .682, .500, and .800, along with 15 goals allowed in those three contests, put Hofer comfortably at the bottom of nearly every metric and earned him the title of worst goalie in the league.
Since then, Hofer has been better but not great. He did have a shutout against the Buffalo Sabres and saved 32/35 shots against the Blue Jackets, but still, he was losing the vast majority of his games and struggling to get over a .900 save percentage consistently. In the NHL, with the offensive talent many teams have, this is just not good enough support for a team hoping to make the playoffs. He knew he needed to be better, and everyone else knew it as well.
Hofer's performance against the Utah Mammoth
Coming into the intra-divisional matchup with Utah, most fans would be forgiven for expecting a loss - all signs pointed to a Mammoth win. St. Louis was on the back end of a physical back-to-back, the Mammoth and Clayton Keller have consistently put up some ridiculous numbers against the Blues dating back to when the team was the Arizona Coyotes, and the inconsistent Joel Hofer would be in the net. However, he managed to flip all expectations on their heads with his performance.
Hofer didn't face a high number of shots on goal in this competition, thanks to every skater on the ice for the Blues putting their body on the line to block shots and battle all night long for a full 60 minutes. The Blues would end up blocking 23 shots, compared to just 18 shots on goal for the Mammoth. This was huge in making sure Hofer didn't get overwhelmed in the net. What did get through was almost always a good scoring chance, however. Hofer made huge save after huge save to keep the game locked at 0-0 and then continued to stand tall in the net as the Blues desperately tried to protect the one-goal lead in the closing minutes of the third period. Hofer managed to finish with a single game goals saved above expected of 2.32, a stellar mark and his best of the season thus far.
When the final horn sounded, the Blues had topped Utah despite only getting one puck to the back of the net. A lot could be said about this win because it truly was a great performance from every player wearing the note, but as it's been mentioned before, it all starts with the goaltending for this team. As the offensive lines and defensive pairings continue to look more connected, if the goalie play we have seen this week can continue, this is a brand new team for whom the sky is the limit. Don't write this team off yet, Blues fans. There's still hope for the team to turn it around, and much of that hope lies on the shoulders of 25-year-old Joel Hofer.