The NHL season is up and running and with all 32 teams set to hit the ice soon, EA Sports has released its newest installment in the NHL series. NHL 23 has various new features including enhanced customization within franchise mode, but that’s a different story for a different day.
The St. Louis Blues are rated as one of the league’s contending teams in this year’s edition. Last year’s simulation had the correct playoff round exit with round two, but it had them losing to the Calgary Flames instead of the Colorado Avalanche. Let’s see how the simulation for the Blues plays out for 2022-23.
Blues Player Ratings
Before I list the player ratings for the Blues, I should explain what they are and how they are determined. There is a 0 to 99 scale for each skill and player. The average NHL player in the game is going to be a 77 or above for most teams. Some of the skills that play into the overall rating include various categories.
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The categories all have in-depth ratings within them with specific stats such as wrist shot accuracy and power. Those categories are puck skills, senses, shooting, defense, skating, and physical. Let’s take a look at the Blues’ ratings for the 2022-23 season.
Forwards
- Ryan O’Reilly (88)
- Vladimir Tarasenko (88)
- Robert Thomas (87)
- Pavel Buchnevich (87)
- Jordan Kyrou (87)
- Brayden Schenn (86)
- Ivan Barbashev (84)
- Brandon Saad (83)
- Noel Acciari (79)
- Logan Brown (77)
- Alexey Toropchenko (76)
- Josh Leivo (76)
- Jake Neighbours (73)
Defense
- Torey Krug (86)
- Colton Parayko (86)
- Justin Faulk (85)
- Nick Leddy (83)
- Robert Bortuzzo (79)
- Niko Mikkola (78)
- Scott Perunovich (77)
- Calle Rosen (74)
Goaltenders
- Jordan Binnington (85)
- Thomas Greiss (80)
How the Season Simulation Played Out
- Record: 41-32-9 (91 points) (4th place in Central)
The simulation had the Blues get off to a fantastic start, holding onto first place in the Central Divison through December. Things went south after the All-Star break and they limped to a fourth-place finish in the division. The Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, and Colorado Avalanche all finished ahead of them.
The simulation also had the Blues’ power play rank fifth in the league and their penalty kill 30th overall. Their power play stayed on par with 2021-22 in the top five, while their penalty kill fell apart and finished ahead of only the Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks.
Skater Stat Leaders:
- Points: Tarasenko – 81
- Goals: Tarasenko – 36
- Assists: O’Reilly – 56
The Blues were led by Tarasenko in both points and goals, which is exactly what happened last season, while O’Reilly bounced back with a career-high 56 assists. As for Thomas and Kyrou, they had quality seasons to add to their breakouts in 2021-22. Kyrou had 31 goals and 47 assists for 78 points, while Thomas had 21 goals and 51 assists for 72 points. Other notable player stats were Buchnevich’s 34 goals, Saad’s 29 goals, Krug’s 49 points, and Barbashev’s fall to just 14 goals and 40 points.
Outside of Krug and Faulk, the blue line didn’t have a lot of offensive production. Parayko had 29 points and Leddy had 24, they were also below-average defenders overall. Another notable number was Mikkola scoring eight goals, ranking third on the blue line. Perunovich returned from injury and scored three goals in 14 games. This felt like a potentially accurate projection of what those players’ stats could look like this season.
Goaltending Stats:
- Binnington’s record: 37-24-7
- Save percentage (SV%): .909
- Shutouts: 1
It was a solid season for Binnington, but his numbers suffered when the Blues went on a major cold streak late in the season. He played 73 of 82 games with Greiss not helping much behind him. Greiss had a .894 SV% and a rough goals-against average (GAA) of 3.48. If Binnington wins 37 games during the 2022-23 season, that would be fantastic news for the Blues. But they don’t need him making above 65 starts as that could take a toll by the time the playoffs begin.
As the first round began, the Blues were matched up with the Edmonton Oilers. They won the first two games of the series at Rogers Place in Edmonton, including a game-winning overtime goal from Schenn in Game 1. The Oilers tried to storm back with a Game 3 victory, but the Blues were resilient with an overtime win in Game 4. With the 3-1 series lead, the Oilers didn’t go down without a fight, as the Blues got dominated in both Games 5 and 6, but finished the series with a 5-1 victory in Game 7. Thomas had a dominant series with six points in seven games, while Binnington played well with a .918 SV%.
The Blues matched up with the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, a possible revenge series against former captain Alex Pietrangelo. The Blues struggled to score goals with only four in the first four games and ended up trailing the series 3-1, as Golden Knights netminder Logan Thompson was dominant throughout the series. The Blues lost the series in five as they couldn’t generate any offense until the end of it where they scored four in Game 5.
As for the rest of the simulation, the Golden Knights defeated the Predators in the Western Conference Final in six games. They went on to sweep the Stanley Cup Final in four games over the Florida Panthers. Clearly, EA Sports is buying into a bounce-back season for Vegas with this simulation. The Conn Smythe Trophy for the playoff’s most valuable player went to Reilly Smith, as he finished with 22 points in 20 games overall.
Simulation is Realistic as Blues Make Playoffs
My takeaway from this season’s simulation is all about realism. The accuracy of the Blues’ campaign is on par with the expectations heading into it. The only thing that felt unrealistic was the Blues only getting 91 points in the regular season, but crazier things have happened.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Blues get bounced in the second round again in 2023, and the NHL 23 simulation agrees with me. With that out of the way, it’s time for the real 2022-23 season to begin. Be sure to hang around all season for Blues coverage here at The Hockey Writers.