Who would you have guess would lead the Blues in goals by this point? This guy?
-
After watching the St. Louis Blues dismantle the Calgary Flames 5-2 Friday night, I got to thinking… Where do they stand at this point and are there any quirks that may surprise… Here’s what I found.
Short answer, Blues fans have seen lots of surprises, but let’s let the numbers do the talking…
Team Stats
- In 2011-12 the Blues bagged 65 points at home out of a possible 82. That’s a pretty heathy clip of 79%. On the road they gathered 44 out of a possible 82. A rather pedestrian pace of 54%. In 2012-13 they have taken 7 out of 14 points (50%) at Scottrade and 10 out of 14 points (71%) away from the friendly confines.
- The Blues are currently 4th in the NHL in scoring with a 3.36 goals scored per game average. They’re 24th in goals against per game with a 3.14 average. Last season they finished 21st in goal scoring with a 2.51 goals scored per game average and a league best 1.89 goals against per game average.
- What about 5 on 5 Goals For/Against Ratio? In 11-12, 1.34 (2nd) . In 12-13, .70 (27th)
- The Blues power play ranked 19th in the NHL at 16.7% last season. Now? A league best 35.8% after going 2/4 against Calgary.
- Penalty Kill? 11-12 was 7th best at 85.8%. 12-13 is 23rd at 77.4%.
- First Period Goals For… Last Season: 67 goals (9th) in 82 games or .82 goals scored per game. This Season: 20 goals (1st in NHL) in 14 games or 1.43 goals scored per game.
- First Period Goals Against… Last Season 42 goals (1st) in 82 games or .51 goals scored per game. This Season: 16 goals (4th most allowed) in 14 games or 1.14 goal scored per game.
Individual Stats
- Patrik Berglund leads the team in goals with 7. Last season it took him 30 games to score as many goals. Keep in mind his ATOI is actually down to 16:19 from 17:58 a season ago.
- Alex Steen leads the team in points with 15 (4g, 11a). In 2011-12 he didn’t reach 15 points till his 22nd game.
- Chris Stewart is tied for second in goals with 6 and is on a pace for 22 goals in 48 games which is a 37 goal pace over 82 games. In his forgettable campaign last year he earned goals 6 and 7 in his 31st game on December 26th. Like Berglund, Stewart’s ATOI has slipped. Going from 15:26 to 14:40.
- Alex Pietrangelo finished the his 11-12 run with a Plus-16 rating. So far he’s a Minus-2.
- Captain David Backes is a very rare Minus-1. Over the last 3+ seasons (back to 09-10) he’s really only had grand total of 4 months where he was a minus player. Each season spans roughly 6-7 months. A month’s worth of games typically ranges from 10-14 games. In that timeframe he is a Plus-43 overall.
- Brian Elliott allowed just 15 goals on 308 shots against through his first 12 games last season. Through 9 games of 12-13 he’s allowed 28 goals on 156 shots against. A night and day difference of .951 save percentage vs an .849 save percentage.
Somethings haven’t changed… like key players ice time (Backes, Oshie, Steen Pietrangelo, Shattenkirk, Jackman) and David Perron’s hot starts (11 points in 14 games vs 11 points in 13 games), but my how the team is different…