The Blues are certainly showing this season the true meaning of home-ice advantage. They're off to a 12-3-1 start at Scottrade Center, which ranks second in the NHL, trailing only Detroit for the best home record in the league, based on points obtained out of points possible.
The Blues haven't gone to Motown yet this season, but they are off to a 2-0 start against the Red Wings and have won three straight against them, including the magical 10-3 win I witnessed last season at Joe Louis Arena with my friends Dave, Tyler, Dan, and Julie. So while the Blues did that against the Red Wings' backup's backup's backup due to a rash of goalie injuries, it was impressive nonetheless. And looking again at the current season, I can't remember the last time that the Blues started out a year 2-0 against the Wings, even with both games being at home. I still think they the Wings will take a step back once Nicklas Lidstrom
finally retires and I still think that Jimmy Howard is not a good goalie for a number one, but for the time being, the Red Wings are still a force to be reckoned with, as much as I hate to admit it. After all, look at what Detroit did with another mediocre goaltender in
Chris Osgood for years?
The Blues are now 12-2-3 since they put Ken Hitchcock (
happy birthday to Hitch, btw) in charge and with the way the team is playing under him, there's no reason to believe that they can't compete for the division title. The way the conference is shaping up so far, it looks like the Central Division winner will get either the one or two seed, as the Pacific Division is struggling and could possibly only send their division champion to the playoffs. It's still early and that could change, but it doesn't look like Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago, defending conference champ Vancouver, or the Blues are going away any time soon. The Blues have a big test tonight in Nashville. The Predators, like the Blues, are on a four-game winning streak and are just coming off a third period comeback win over Detroit on Thursday. If the Blues go hard in the first, perhaps they'll catch the Preds in a bit of a let down. Not that the Blues have needed any help lately, though.
i really like how the blues have looked thus far, but my one worry is our goaltending... it's somewhat worrisome that our backup is outperforming our number 1.
ReplyDeleteI think Halak is really starting to come on too and that possibly he just needed someone to push him. I think both Hitchcock's coaching and Elliot's play have done that. It's difficult to blame Halak for the loss in Nashville last night, one goal in regulation and one in a shootout after two nice saves.
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