It’s no lie that the St. Louis Blues homestand may tell us a lot about this team in hindsight. I, for one, thought the Minnesota Wild were in tank mode. But at this point that isn’t the case, and they’ll be a tougher opponent for the Blues tonight in their home opener.
But Week 2 has not one but three games on the slate, and none of the teams they’re facing this week look like pushovers. Just as I thought the Wild would be in the midst of a throwaway year even in October, the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes are a pair of teams that you didn’t know what to expect out of, even if they looked like they were on the backslide.
Starting with Minnesota, here’s one stat that jumps out: A 0.963 save percentage at 5-on-5 in the season’s early going, well above the 0.917 league average. Minnesota has been hot overall defensively, so they’ll give the Blues, 11th in the league going into the week with 11 goals, a true test.
There has been a pair of Blues who I’ve been ultra-ecstatic about, and it’s a trend both players must continue not only vs. the Wild but also when the Islanders and Hurricanes come to town. No, the Isles basic numbers may not look so good, but I’ll never put it past Ilya Sorokin or Semyon Varlamov, whoever gets the start this week, to come on strong and enjoy an outstanding game.
Week 2 may not be so kind to the St. Louis Blues
So, as with the Wild, the Blues must continue to bring a brand of offense we weren’t expecting from them this season. Okay, it’s still early, but still, few of us saw such exciting play coming from them last week, and it’ll be badly needed vs. New York.
Having played in just one game last week, the Hurricanes are an unknown commodity but one that, on paper, should have taken a step back. They’ll give the Blues more of a sample size before the two teams faceoff on October 19th, but this is also a group that cruised to the middle of the playoffs last year before the New York Rangers gave them more than they could handle.
Overall, the Canes still have a lot of talent at forward and in the crease, meaning they’re still a team that, despite their losses, is capable of scoring at will or stopping an opponent’s scorers in their tracks.
The Blues have their work cut out for them, but if they keep up that exhilarating play we saw from them last week, they’re winning at least one game in this initial homestand.