St. Louis Blues: Are short-handed goals a big deal?

The St. Louis Blues ranked No. 5 in short-handed goals in 2023-24, recording 11 for the season.

With 16, the Philadelphia Flyers led the league, followed by the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks, who tied with 12.

The leaders for the Blues in short-handed goals were:

Pavel Buchnevich–2
Alexey Toropchenko–2

Seven other players, including Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn, and Colton Parayko, recorded 1 short-handed goal.

As noted in the leader board, Buchnevich and Thomas highlight that the team's top goal-scorers and primary players tend to lead this category.

However, leading scorer Jordan Kyrou and another top-five leading goal scorer, Jake Neighbours, are absent in this category.

So, are short-handed goals really that important in terms of statistics?

The answer is a resounding yes! If they are anything, they are a momentum booster and a confidence killer for the opposing team.

Let's look no further than the recent Stanley Cup Finals, where the Edmonton Oilers had success in this category.

Short-handed goals kill the confidence of the team in a power-play.

While every situation and goal-scoring opportunity differs, teams that take advantage of short-handed goals flourish under pressure.

While the Blues struggled immensely statistically in power-plays themselves, the ability to score on short-handed goals, including ranking fifth in the league, is a recognition that should indeed be built upon.

Credit goes to defensive play, teamwork, and reading the opponent's offensive attack.

While they may be an undervalued stat, short-handed goals play a role in the game, notably killing the opposing team's momentum.

Although a few players were lucky to be in the right place at the right time, scoring short-handed goals is a valuable asset for any team and can psychologically impact the opposing teams. The success of the Oilers against the Florida Panthers in this statistic demonstrates this. The Oilers made history by scoring short-handed goals in back-to-back games in the finals, the first team to do so since the 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Blues fared well here.