St. Louis Blues 2010 Preview & Predictions

St. Louis Blues 2010 Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

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ST. LOUIS BLUES

2009-10 record: 40-32-10
Shootout Record: 7-5
Division Finish: 4th, Central
Conference Finish: 9th, Western
Goals For: 225
Goals Against: 223

St. Louis Blues 2010 Preview

If hockey people thought the St. Louis Blues were a good defensive team before, what will they look like with Jaroslav Halak in goal?

The hero of the Montreal Canadiens’ improbable playoff run, the young man who stared down Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin in two massive first-round upsets in the spring, will be wearing the Bluenote in 2010-11.

Taking advantage of a goaltending glut in Montreal, general manager Doug Armstrong pried Halak from the Habs in mid-June for prospect forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.

St. Louis was already proud of its record of allowing fewer than 250 goals in each of the past three seasons, part of that due to the play of goalie Chris Mason, who will be playing in Atlanta.

St. Louis had 90 points, but as is sometimes the case, that was just shy of a playoff spot in the West. Haunting the Blues were the 29 times they entered the third period behind on the scoreboard, winning just three.

Halak, meanwhile, was the most talked-about goalie in the Eastern Conference coming out of the playoffs. His .923 save percentage and cool under fire whenever the shot clock hit 40 or more kept Montreal in many important games.

He comes to a completely different hockey market in Missouri, where the Blues might not be front-page sports news every day, which could be a better fit long term for the quiet Slovakian.

A goaltender is theoretically the team’s best penalty killer, too, but the Blues are already firmly established as the League’s top group with an 87.9% kill ratio.

But the season that began with such promise in September with a trip to Europe and back-to-back opening wins against the Red Wings fell apart in the middle before a late rally of 6-3-1 in March and April.

A New Year’s Eve loss to Vancouver at the Scottrade Center after being up 3-0 marked the third time in the season the club would blow such a lead. Shortly after, Davis Payne was named head coach the rest of the way and confirmed for 2010-11 after the regular season.

Sticking with the youth movement, the Blues picked up forward T.J. Hensick from the Colorado Avalanche as they attempt to go the route of Pittsburgh, Washington and Chicago, without the pain of several bottom-five finishes to earn high first-round picks the hard way.

2010 St. Louis Blues Offense:

Brad Boyes is still bullish on the Blues, despite a dramatic drop from 72 to 42 points in the same amount of games. A full year under Payne should give a more accurate assessment. Boyes did have three shootout-winning goals. Winger Andy McDonald was the team’s leading point man, back in the 20-goal form he last exhibited in his Stanley Cup year with Anaheim. He shared the goal lead with Alex Steen, who didn’t crack 20 in his final 100 games with Toronto, but had 24 in 68 here last season, overcoming a broken wrist. Steen and Patrik Berglund shared the team lead with four game winning goals. T.J. Oshie, the Washington state native and part of a growing collection of young stars gathered in the last decade, was successful in his second year in the League, moving up to 30 assists. That total was slightly exceeded by McDonald and David Backes, while David Perron’s 20 goals included the team’s only hat trick of last season. Jay McClement made huge progress as a defensive center.

2010 St. Louis Blues Defense:

Finding the right mix on the blueline has been a challenge for the Blues, complicated by 2006′s first pick overall Erik Johnson missing all of 2008-09 with a foot injury. He was back with 39 points last year, though it seemed to be Eric Brewer’s turn to struggle, held to 59 games. Carlo Colaiacovo played in a career high 67 games (with one team) and is now plus-l0 as a Blue over two seasons. The Blues are hoping Alex Pietrangelo makes the jump next season, giving the Blues the chance of having six former first-rounders spread throughout their lineup.

2010 St. Louis Blues Goaltending:

The Blues hope Halak can improve specific areas such as their poor record within the Central Division (10-11-3) and their general home record (18-18-5). He will get the lion’s share of the starts and with Mason gone, Ty Conklin will be staying on as backup signed through next season. He registered four shutouts among 26 games and reached double figures in wins for the third season with a third team. Getting ready in the minors will be Ben Bishop, while Jake Allen is on the horizon.

St. Louis Blues 2010 Special Teams

A true point of pride with the Blues is survival when down a man, with almost 300 penalties killed off in each of the past two seasons. That ranked them first overall in 2009-10. Forwards and defense are strong shot blockers while Steen had a couple of shorthanded goals. But the power play was just below 17% and needed more snipers. Steen managed seven goals while Johnson and McDonald fired six apiece.

St. Louis Blues 2010 Season Predictions

The Blues have to get by two of the past three Cup champions to come out of the Central Division and then there’s the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets. Such a tough neighborhood makes it hard to get those last few precious points to qualify for playoffs, but from the crease out, the Blues look prepared this time.

We predict that the St. Louis Blues will finish 4th in the NHL Central.

St. Louis Blues Betting

St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup Odds: +3000
St. Louis Blues Western Conference Odds: +1300

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