St. Louis Blues: Top 3 reasons they can repeat as Stanley Cup champions
Only one team has managed to win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons in the salary cap era. The St. Louis Blues have what it takes to join that exclusive group.
The Stanley Cup is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, trophy to win. It takes eight grueling months of punishment and hard work to earn the right to hoist it. There’s a good reason the Pittsburgh Penguins are the only team in the salary cap era to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. As hard as it is to repeat, the St. Louis Blues have a good chance of hoisting the Stanley Cup again in June.
History is against the Blues. Since 1990, only three teams have repeated as Stanley Cup champions. And there’s a reason for that. Winning the Stanley Cup is very difficult. Not only do you need to be good, but you also need a bunch of things that are beyond your control to go your way.
That being said, the Blues have what it takes to repeat as the champions of the NHL. It won’t be easy, but you can’t deny they’ve got a good chance of doing so. Here’s a look at three reasons the Blues could repeat as Stanley Cup champions.
All stats are courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
3. A Suffocating Defense
A huge reason why the Blues were so good last season is that they basically suffocated opposing offenses. The Blues have kept this trend going, as they’ve allow the third-fewest 5v5 goals against per hour (2.16). They are in the bottom 10 in scoring chances against per hour and expected goals against per hour as well.
Though their penalty kill is trending in the wrong direction, special teams don’t really matter too much in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Keep in mind the Blues only killed 75.4% of their penalties during their Stanley Cup run last season. So though there should be some concern about their shorthanded woes, that’s a relatively small problem to have.
Jordan Binnington, as expected, has experienced some regression from last season’s numbers. On paper, his .912% save percentage isn’t impressive. However, both Binnington and Jake Allen have been above-average in GSAx (goals saved above expected), according to Evolving Hockey. Even if Binnington falters, they have a strong backup plan in Allen.
2. A Revived Power Play
The St. Louis Blues are an excellent defensive team, which causes people to underrate them offensively. Last season, from Jan. 1, 2019 to the end of the regular season, they scored the 11th-most goals per game. Though they’ve fallen to 15th this season, that’s understandable because they haven’t had Vladimir Tarasenko in their lineup since late October.
Despite not having Tarasenko, the Blues have been remarkably productive on the power play. They’ve converted on 24.0% of their chances, which is the fourth-best mark in the NHL. Though special teams don’t matter as much as 5v5 play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, having a lethal power play in your back pocket can be beneficial.
Last season, the Blues power play wasn’t a huge part of their Stanley Cup run, as they only converted on 16.3% of their chances. That’s why 5v5 scoring is so important. But the Blues have to be encouraged by their numbers on the man advantage without Tarasenko, who’s such an important part of their power play.
Their power play is very well-balanced, as they have four skaters in the top 40 in power play points. Once Tarasenko comes back, it should be even more productive. That should frighten every team in the Western Conference.
1. An Easier Road
Last season, the St. Louis Blues faced a pretty tough road to the Stanley Cup. Not only did they have to take down the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, and Boston Bruins, they also had to overcome their own postseason demons.
Though winning the Stanley Cup is never easy, the Blues have a relatively easy path to the Stanley Cup Final. The injury to Nathan MacKinnon is likely going to cost the Colorado Avalanche the Central Division title, which means the Blues will get to face a wild card team. And this year’s potential wild card teams aren’t overly impressive.
Also, you have to overcome adversity to win a championship. The Blues already have overcome adversity, as they’ve been without Tarasenko for most of the season. Getting him back healthy should give them an extra boost of offense.
The Western Conference doesn’t have too many great teams, but the Blues are one of them. I’d say the Colorado Avalanche are another. If the Vegas Golden Knights do the smart thing and make Robin Lehner their starting goalie in the postseason, you could argue they’re a great team. But that’s about it.
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Winning the Stanley Cup won’t be easy for the Blues. But the stars seem to be aligning for another Stanley Cup to be hoisted by the Blues in June.