3 players who have ignited the St. Louis Blues late-season surge

Brandon Saad has been a top-tier player in the league as of late

Brandon Saad hasn’t just been one of the best players on the team, but you can argue he’s up there with the likes of Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon as far as the last few weeks have gone. He’s no Hart Trophy candidate, don’t get me wrong, but with 22 shots on goal, Saad has scored seven times and in the process, has logged an eye-popping 31.8 shooting percentage. 

Of his seven goals, three have been game-winning, and he’s posting a remarkable 2.534 even strength goals per 60 minutes in this stretch. Saad’s three assists in this frame also tie him for the lead in points with Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou with 10. 

Overall, the Blues needed someone to step up and just take over games, and nobody has done that more than Brandon Saad. It’s also an understatement to say this has been a late-season surge; in his first 63 games this season, Saad had just 29 points and 18 goals. 

The latter number isn’t bad, but here’s a fun fact: Last night’s goal just gave him the second-best total of his career. While there is no way he will match his career-high of 31 that he set in 2015-16, Saad has shown us that he can still be a prolific scorer in the NHL.