Blues Clinch Playoff Spot

Who would have thought that the first team to clinch a spot in the playoffs would be the St. Louis Blues? Blues fans perhaps, but maybe not everyone else in the league. A first guess may have been more along the lines of The Rangers or The Red Wings, who seemed to be dominating the entire league for quiet some time. Although since their current injuries, they have been a less present force on the ice.

The Blues seem to come out of nowhere to the Eastern Hockey fan, as they may not be as familiar with the Western Conference, but there is no denying that there is a reason why the Blues are currently on top. Their current standing situation echoes the Vancouver Canucks last season, which interesting enough the Canucks are right behind them trailing by 6 points. The Canucks and The Dallas Stars are the current division leaders and take the remaining top 3 seeds in the West, while The Blues sit at the top having already clinched the playoff spot with 100 points. Not only are the Blues the top in their conference, but they also are the top leader in the NHL right now. The Eastern first seed, The New York Rangers trails behind them with 95 points.

So how did the Blues triumphant this season? Well for one, they fired their coach immediately after poor performance on the ice, and this has definitely proved to be a wise decision. The other, and maybe more important reason that they have played so well up to this point is due to their goaltending situation. Elliot and Halak seemed to have not so good seasons in the past, but with the Blues this season they have really turned it around. Elliot was already turning around his playing before the coaching change occurred with a record of 21-9-2, and Halak is being hailed as an equalled talent goaltender for St. Louis with his 18-3-1 record.

Some of the other reasons that they have been playing so well is that they are better at the penalty kill than they were in the past and more importantly, they are more dominant when playing at even strength. For a hockey team this is really important, because if they are dominating the ice than they are scoring goals and keeping the puck out of their zone. This ensures wins, which is clearly evident by the Blues current record.