This offseason, the National Hockey League realigned the four divisions in hopes of rekindling rivalries of the past and creating new ones in the process. Two teams, Detroit and Columbus, left the highly competitive Central Division while four new clubs (Dallas, Minnesota, Colorado and Winnipeg) were added.
The St. Louis Blues are not making life easy for these organizations in the 2013-2014 season, or any teams in the Central for that matter.
Led by an impeccable defensive core and a surging offense, the Blues have managed to earn a point in a franchise record 21 straight games against divisional opponents this year (19-0-2). No other team in the league has found that type of success, which makes the run the Blues have had that much more impressive.
The reason why this is so unique is that the Central Division is filled with teams that are having remarkable seasons.
First-year head coach Patrick Roy has re-established Colorado’s prominence while recovering from a lackluster performance last year that found them at the bottom of the Western Conference. Captain Gabriel Landeskog and #1 overall pick in the 2013 draft Nathan MacKinnon have skyrocketed them back into a playoff spot. But how have they fared against the Blues? They have scored five goals in three games and are 0-3 as a result.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks who have mastered St. Louis in the past surely have done the same this juncture, right? They do have the highest-scoring offense in the league, besting the Blues in that category (though only by four goals). With a star-studded lineup consisting of big names like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane, and Marian Hossa, just to name a few, how can you lose?
However, the Hawks are just another measly victim to the Blues supremacy within the Central as they are winless in three affairs when facing them. The two powerhouses have a pair of scheduled contests (both in Chicago) upcoming before the regular season concludes.
St. Louis has certainly accomplished quite a feat with this dominating record, to say the least. With the new playoff format being implemented in April, the Blues will need to go through a divisional opponent in the second round if they want to capture their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
How do the Blues find a way to register points every time they play a member of the Central Division? It’s simple: the offense has shown up, which had been an Achilles heel for the team in the past couple of seasons.
The young guns are making a difference. Second-year forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz have elevated their games and emerged as key contributors for St. Louis this season. They both have registered 21 goals this year with 94 points combined. Tarasenko has excelled as a puck-handler with a quick release, while Schwartz utilizes his speed along the boards to create scoring chances.
Both first round picks in 2010, the duo realized that they needed to overcome their rookie hiccups and start producing significantly if they wanted to remain in the lineup each and every night.
“We both wanted to come in here and play a bigger role this year,” said Schwartz. “You play more games and you get a little more comfortable and you get more confidence. It’s been fun. I think we’ve learned a lot as our short careers have gone on here. I think experience helps. I know he’s (Tarasenko) learned a lot and so have I, just trying to take that forward with us and learn to play the right way.”
Additionally, struggling members of the core are finally putting up numbers for St. Louis as they should be due to their amount of upside. One player who has been criticized of his lack of production, particularly earlier in the season, was big Swede Patrik Berglund.
Before the Olympic break, he had not scored in his past 16 games.
In his last eight games, the 25-year-old has scored six goals, including a two-goal performance on Saturday against the Nashville Predators in a 4-1 win. Berglund is gaining praise from his teammates as well as head coach Ken Hitchcock in the process:
“He’s good on the boards, he’s big,” said Hitchcock. “Some guys are just more effective without the puck.
He plays faster, he gets up ice, and he can hang onto the offensive zone a little longer.”
The Blues are putting pucks to the back of the net with ease and with Ryan Miller now manning the goaltending duties, their powerful run against the Central will most likely continue if they play up to their potential.
The Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks will attempt to give the Blues their first regulation loss in that regard as they face off against St. Louis on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.
Maybe I’m jinxing them, but the St. Louis Blues have a lot to be happy about as the season winds down.
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