St Louis Blues goalie Joel Hofer picked up his first shutout in the NHL last night in a 3-0 victory over the Calgary Flames. It was the Blues’ first shutout win of the season and some may be surprised it didn’t come from Jordan Binnington who has been fantastic this season.
Hofer saved 26 shots, but the story of the night was how St Louis played in front of him. When the story of the night was the complete game St Louis played with Hofer’s shutout being a complement to that, you know the team in front of him played a good game.
As special as your first shutout in the NHL might be, Hofer made it even more special by cementing him in his team’s history books. He became the third youngest goalie in Blues history to record a shutout.
Only Yves Belanger in 1975 and Jake Allen in 2013 recorded a shutout faster than Hoferm according to NHL PR:
Joel Hofer (23 years, 88 days) became the third-youngest goaltender to post a shutout with the @StLouisBlues behind Yves Belanger (22, 162 on March 11, 1975) and Jake Allen (22, 219 on March 14, 2013).#NHLStats: https://t.co/9prvnFwd3h https://t.co/rNzA5F7smH
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 27, 2023
The St. Louis Blues and Joel Hofer had a great night on Thursday.
Hofer was involved in a shutout last year but it was a combined one with Thomas Greiss. Hofer was called up earlier this year and was making a statement.
In a game against the Winnipeg Jets back in March, Hofer was in goal and had not allowed a goal. But in the second period, he had to leave the game due to an issue with his skate blade.
Thomas Greiss came into the game and saved one shot before Hofer returned. Hofer returned and completed the shutout, a 3-0 win. A tough way to be robbed of your first one, but Hofer can say he has one all by himself now.
Now, the hope is that Hofer can keep helping the St. Louis Blues win games. He beat a good team in the form of a shutout and now he can feel good going forward.