St. Louis Blues complete historic comeback by clinching playoff spot

Despite a very slow start to their season, which included a head coach getting fired, the St. Louis Blues have fought back to clinch a spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Before the season, everyone expected the St. Louis Blues to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, especially after they added Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, Tyler Bozak, and Patrick Maroon during the summer. However, this opinion quickly changed after a slow start which got their head coach Mike Yeo fired. They climbed back in by excelling in 2019. By virtue of the Arizona Coyotes losing to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, March 29, the Blues have clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Making the postseason is a phenomenal accomplishment for the Blues. After 41 games, everyone wrote them off – and rightfully so. On Jan. 8, following a loss to the Dallas Stars, they had the fourth-fewest points with 38.

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By making the playoffs, the Blues have completed a historic rebound. It’s extremely difficult to make up a large deficit in the NHL. St. Louis found themselves eight points out of the second wild-card spot after their 41st game.

With 24 losses (20 in regulation and four post-regulation), they are just the fifth team to make it to the playoffs with that many losses after 41 games. Other teams with 24 losses who made the postseason are the 2015-16 Anaheim Ducks and the 2014-15 Ottawa Senators. Only the 2008-09 Blues and the 2007-08 Washington Capitals had more with 25 a piece.

Interim head coach Craig Berube has done a great job to keep his guys motivated and get them going. He’s likely earned himself a future job, even if it is not with the Blues. However, the biggest reason the Blues completed the comeback is their players.

Perhaps the biggest reason has been the stellar play of rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington. He became the starting goalie on Jan. 7. Since then, the Blues have a 21-5-1 record. He has a .930 save percentage and has allowed merely 1.81 goals against per game, which is the lowest mark in the NHL.

Also, the Blues best players started being their best players. It’s that simple. O’Reilly proved he wasn’t a part of the problem with the Buffalo Sabres, as he’s quietly having one of the finest seasons of his career. Vladimir Tarasenko, once involved in trade rumors, did what he does best -score goals. Only Alex Ovechkin has more seasons with at least 30 goals since the 2012-13 lockout.

Alex Pietrangelo, Vince Dunn, and Colton Parayko have led an impressive blueline, who have made life relatively easy for their rookie goaltender Binnington. He sees the fewest shots on goal against per hour among goalies with at least 1,500 minutes during all situations. Binnington rightfully gets a lot of credit, but the defense deserves a ton as well.

On paper, their scoring is slightly below average, as they ranked 18th in goals scored entering Friday. However, it’s worth noting the Blues rank 12th in goals scored since Jan. 1, so their offense has been better. And it’s not like they’re riding a high shooting percentage either – their 9.74% shooting percentage in 2019 ranks 14th among all teams.

The Blues are catching fire at the right time. In a Western Conference filled with flawed teams and no overwhelming juggernaut, St. Louis is in a position to make some noise in the postseason. Last year, the Blues fell apart down the stertch. This year, they’re flourishing.