Something changed with the young team though. Looking back, fans cannot even seem to recall these unexciting times. The play picked up and now, with two games remaining in the season, the Blues are tied for the seventh seed in the standings and just four back from the sixth seed. What caused this drastic change on the ice?
Blues play-by-play man John Kelly was recently interviewed on PuckPodcast.com and says that the turn-around is owed to the Blues miraculous 5-4 shootout win against the Boston Bruins on January 19th. With just eight-tenths of a second remaining in the hockey game, David Backes knotted the game up at four goals apiece, and T.J. Oshie and Brad Boyes both scored in the shootout to seal the deal. Kelly says the win sparked the club, and the team has only lost eight games in regulation since the big win.
Looking at the statistics though, something else rather unusual could be the spark that ignited the Blues that John Kelly speaks of.
The first ten games after the Brewer injury, the Blues went in one of the biggest slumps in recent history. Going just 2-8-0 in the span, Blues President John Davidson even tried calling up rookie Tyson Strachan to help the defensive corps. After the 2-8-0 stretch though, the Blues went on an absolute tear.
Going 25-10-7 since January 3rd, the Blues are proclaimed by many to be one of the best teams in 2009. Is this an effect of Brewer not being in the lineup? It is hard to argue the fact when shots-per-game is added into the equation. Before Brewer’s injury, the Blues allowed 30.39 shots per game. After the injury, the Blues have allowed 27.79 shots per game. That may not seem like a very large number, but when factoring in goaltending, the difference seems like a lot more. Manny Legace played the majority of the games when Brewer was in the lineup, and one of Manny’s stronger attributes is rebound control. He did not have a strong 2008-09 campaign in St. Louis, but Legace still covered his rebounds with relative ease. Chris Mason is not a goalie known for his rebound control, and he has played the majority of the games in 2009. Thus, a goalie that gives up more rebounds is certain to face more shots.
The Blues have also improved since the departure of Manny Legace. On February 7th, 2009, the former NHL All-Star goaltender cleared waivers and was sent to the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL. Before Manny was let go, the Blues were a dismal 20-24-5. Manny played in just 29 of those games, but Blues management has stated several times that he was a nuisance in the locker room and was not great for team moral. Since Manny exited the NHL, the Blues have vastly improved. With a dazzling record of 19-7-5, the Blues are showing that they have moved on from the Legace era. Their goals-against per-game has dropped dramatically as well, posting a 2.45 average goals against, as opposed to the 3.18 goals against per-game that they placed when Manny was still a member of the team. This could contribute to the strong play of new starter Chris Mason, who has two shutouts since February 7th. Mason has started every game as well since that time, and has been dominate for the most part.
Eric Brewer still has two years left on his $17 million, four-year contract which includes a no-trade clause. Manny Legace will be a free-agent at the end of this season. With the NHL being a numbers game, it is hard to argue that the Blues are better off without these two players in the lineup.
Keywords: Brad Boyes, Chris Mason, David Backes, Eric Brewer, John Davidson, John Kelly, Manny Legace, NHL, St. Louis Blues, T.J. Oshie
