There are many factors as to why this team has been rejuvenated as of late. “The Kid Line,” consisting of youngsters David Perron, T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund, has terrified opposing goaltenders night in and night out, the defense has stepped up their play and Chris Mason has been stellar between the pipes. The most important reason for the success of this team has been the damaging team play. Every line is finally clicking and every player is contributing in their own way.
The Kid Line has been the offensive force driving the Blues right now. This line has been broken up many different times this season due to poor fore-checking and the inability to connect on passes. But they seem to have brought it all together, scoring nineteen points in their last four games between all three players. T.J. Oshie provided possibly the goal of the year against Vancouver last Thursday, when he beat many defenders singlehandedly, then roofed it over a sprawled Roberto Luongo. Perron scored on the game-clinching fourth shootout round against Columbus Saturday night in St. Louis. Berglund provided the Blues’ big fourth goal against Columbus on Sunday, slamming a backhand against standout rookie goalie Steve Mason. All three players have been spectacular, and are expected to stay that way in the Blues’ last six games of the regular season.
Defensively, the team has played solid as well. Being one of the biggest question marks all season, team defense has demonstrated that they will not give up big chances in big moments of the game. Jeff Woywitka, not exactly a fan-favorite in St. Louis, has made better passes and been in better position the past few weeks, which has earned him more power-play and penalty-kill time. Mike Weaver has been making up for what he lacks in size with athleticism. Standing at just 5’9”, Weaver has skated faster than any defenseman for the Blues. He is proving his critics wrong with great positioning and the ability to stay in the play. The only question mark is the play of supposed #1 defenseman Barret Jackman. Barret is still leading the team in active time-on-ice per game with 23:29 average minutes played. He is still unable to move the puck in a way that a $3.62 million defenseman should. Sunday in Columbus, Barret had the puck behind his net and was heavily covered by three Blue Jacket players. Instead of dumping the puck to the side boards or skating the other way around the net to try and draw them off, he threw it right up the middle and it hit off one of the Blue Jacket players. Luckily, the player lost handle of the puck and Jackman was able to poke it free to another Blues player coming back to help. A #1 defenseman should know better. He has to improve his play if he is going to continue to play against top lines in the NHL.
Chris Mason has been an absolute thrill to watch lately. The butterfly goaltender just earned himself NHL first star of the week on Monday, and truly deserved the honor. Posting a 4-0-0 record last week, along with a 1.72 GAA and a .930 save percentage is the statistical reasoning for the honor, but his play in tight situations has been the greatest thing about him. He was easily the best player in the Columbus series, and has, for the most part, been extremely strong since former starting goalie Manny Legace was demoted to the Peoria Rivermen.
A mentionable reason for the Blues’ success goes to Jay McClement. The checking center was another question mark heading into this season. The buzz was that McClement would not be able to be the checking center that St. Louis lost in Ryan Johnson over the off-season, but Jay has stepped up and been a significant part of team defense. He has been able to score (12 goals and 12 assists), and has seen penalty kill time on almost every penalty this season. He has remained a strong face-off man when needed, and has been resilient on the fore-check. Jay is in a contract year, so Blues fans should be hoping that he is seen back in a blue and gold sweater next season.
Going 8-2-1 in their last 11 games, the team still has a high hill to climb to end the season. With just one home game remaining and five road games, they will need to prove that they can win on the road just as well as they win at home. Right now their first-round matchup is the San Jose Sharks, but it could very well be the Detroit Red Wings. Both teams are very tough to beat in the post-season, so a strong end to the season could be that boost that most teams hope for to jolt them in the first round.
Keywords: Andy Murray, Barret Jackman, Chris Mason, David Perron, Jay McClement, Jeff Woywitka, Manny Legace, Mike Weaver, NHL, Patrik Berglund, Roberto Luongo, St. Louis Blues, Steve Mason, T.J. Oshie
