The St. Louis Blues are about to enter the Christmas break after their next contest with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. There is a lot to be said about this season, but as it stands right now, they are only one point behind Utah and San Jose for the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference.
One of the reasons why they are still in contention at 14-15-7 for 36 points on the year is from the revival of one of their goaltenders. Backup Joel Hofer has been an absolute stud, and he is making a strong case for becoming the next starting goaltender of this Blues team, dethroning Jordan Binnington.
But the start of this year started very differently for him, and that is why he deserves his flowers with each successful start. Let's talk about it.
Comeback player of the year?
When looking at Hofer's year between the pipes, you would think that the Blues would have given up on him and moved him in some capacity. It may have happened had it not been for the General Manager's questionable decision to waive goaltender Colten Ellis right before the start of the season.
But they stuck it out with Hofer, who allowed 17 goals in his first four starts of the year. That included two benchings during the game. Since then, he has been a bit up and down, but it has been mostly a steady incline. He has three shutouts on the season, a record of 7-7-2 with a Goals Against Average of 2.91 and a save percentage of .898.
Talk about a revivial.
Playing his best hockey when this team is the most vulnerable
It is no secret that this Blues team is the most vulnerable it has been all season. Multiple top goal-scorers are on the Injured Reserve, and the current roster is a slew of new acquisitions from the waiver wire and call-ups from Springfield. The offense, aside from the offensive explosion down in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers, has been stalled.
Hofer has had to be excellent and has lived up to the call more times than not. Binnington has also shown that, slightly less than Hofer, but enough to keep his place as the starting goaltender. But, I am sure that the idea of a 50/50 split is on the mind of head coach Jim Montgomery and GM Amrstong.