The St. Louis Blues are through 10 games this season and it’s been an up-and-down start for the club. With 10 games under their belt, here are 10 notable numbers to look at.
11 – Points for The Team
The Blues are 5-4-1 this season and they’ve won two games in a row after dropping back-to-back games. They are fourth in the Central Division and the Western Conference looks open with the early season struggles of the Pacific Division. The Central might have two wild-card teams this season.
9 – Blues’ Points Leader Robert Thomas
One of the differences for Robert Thomas this season has been aggressiveness with the puck. He’s shooting it more and being rewarded for it. He has four goals and five assists for nine points in 10 games this season, including four points in the last three games. He’s lived up to his “elite” billing so far this season.
Thomas has been one of the most consistent Blues over the last two seasons and that remains true through 10 games this season. One of the keys for every NHL team to have success is a quality top center and he’s been that and more this season. His two-way play has been pretty impressive as well, even when he wasn’t scoring in the first few games.
2.40 – Goals Per Game
Goal-scoring production has been an issue for the Blues and the next few numbers will represent that. Just two seasons ago, in 2021-22, they were one of the best goal-scoring teams in the NHL. They’ve scored 10 goals in the last two games to beef this number up, but the fact remains that they scored 15 goals in their first eight games. I still think they’ll find some sort of middle ground this season and end up in the middle of the league in goals per game when the season ends.
Players like Jakub Vrana, Sammy Blais, and Pavel Buchnevich need to step up their scoring to help the Blues boost their numbers.
26 – Number of Power Plays Without a Goal
Team goal-scoring numbers aren’t going to look good without a competent power play in today’s NHL. The Blues’ power play this season has been worse than incompetent. They are 1-for-27, which is good for 3.7 percent and last in the league. They are six percent worse than the 31st-ranked team, which is the Washington Capitals. One of the more surprising numbers of the season is Torey Krug’s point total of zero through 10 games. If the Blues power play was humming, Krug would have far better offensive numbers, but that hasn’t been the case. It begs the question of why defenseman Scott Perunovich, who is a well-known puck mover, is sitting in the press box.
Related: Blues’ Dreadful Power Play Needs To Be Addressed
The Blues power play has looked better over the past week, but scoring hasn’t come with that. I’m not sure it can get much worse, but there’s no doubt that it must improve.
6 – Blues Players With Multiple Goals
With the scoring issues that the Blues have had this season, they have just six players on the roster with more than one goal. Those players are Thomas, Brandon Saad, Jordan Kyrou, Kevin Hayes, Kasperi Kapanen, and Jake Neighbours. This further proves why Buchnevich, Blais, and Vrana need to step their games up. I trust them to step it up, but it needs to happen sooner rather than later. It would help if Buchnevich and Vrana could produce on the power play, which is where they can really show their shooting ability.
The Blues have been shooting the puck more in their last few games, so I expect goal-scoring to continue to come. I lean more towards this being a slow start rather than a reality for a lot of these forwards this season.
2 – Blues Shorthanded Goals
On the flip side of a poor power play, the Blues penalty kill has been solid this season. While they are 18th in the league at 78.6 percent, they have scored two shorthanded goals this season. There’s been a lot to like with their aggressiveness and willingness to defend while killing penalties. A huge part of that has been the return of Oskar Sundqvist, who singlehandedly made a play that led to a Kapanen shorthanded goal against the Calgary Flames. Another key cog to the penalty kill is Alexey Toropchenko, who has the Blues other shorthanded goal. Last season, they scored seven shorthanded goals and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them surpass that number.
47.8 – Team Faceoff Percentage
The Blues have been hit or miss in the faceoff circle this season at 47.8 percent, which is good for 25th in the league. Only two centers are above 50 percent for the season – Thomas and Hayes. This is another reason why Thomas is having a special start to the season. It’s almost to the point where he is underrated from a national perspective. Elsewhere, Brayden Schenn is at 46.9 percent and Sundqvist has lost 61 of 92 faceoffs (33.7).
There are no other players that have taken double-digit faceoffs outside of these four. Last season, the Blues ranked 24th in the faceoff circle at 48.5 percent, so it’s been a bit worse this season. It’s early and there are 72 games left, but they need better numbers from Schenn and Sundqvist in this area of the game.
.924 – Jordan Binnington’s Save Percentage
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington is off to a great start in seven starts this season. With better coverage in front of him and more confidence, he’s returned to his previous form in every start this season. He also has a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.38. His 4.47 goals saved above average (GSAA) ranks eighth amongst NHL goaltenders. It’s been a terrific season for Binnington through 10 games.
2.70 – Goals Against Per Game
With 2.70 goals against per game, the Blues rank seventh in the NHL. Their improved defensive coverage and goaltending have been a major positive. They are second in the Central Division in goals against per game, behind only the Dallas Stars, who rank fifth in the league at 2.55.
One of the biggest takeaways from their defensive improvements this season has to be the return of shutdown Colton Parayko. He’s been great this season, which has been huge given his long-term contract. If he continues to play like this, I don’t see why the Blues can’t hover around the top 10 all season in goals against.
98.3 – Blues Attendance Capacity Percentage in Five Games
To wrap this up, it’s clear that the Blues still draw well at their home games at the Enterprise Center. Last season, the Blues’ attendance capacity percentage was above 99 percent in a down season. They’ve been one of the better and most consistent attendance teams in the United States, which isn’t a surprise with the reputation of St. Louis in professional sports.
It’ll be interesting to see how the 10 numbers used for this article trend in either direction throughout the rest of the season. It’s clear that this season’s team has shown more defensively than last season’s team, but there are a lot of games left to be played.
