FERRARIO FIVE –BACK TO THE WINNING STREAK
What a weird season for the Blues as we saw a 3-game win streak, to an 8-game losing streak and back to a win streak with victories over Vegas and Colorado (all on the road).
THE BINNINGTON EFFEECT
I ask this in all seriousness, what type of goalie would you rather have? One that is average in regular season but heightens his game on biggest stage or one that is above average all year but crumbles in the playoffs. The answer is in-between with Jordan Binnington. People always use the argument of “yeah, but I want to see what he does in the regular season” and it’s a fair one to have but there is no question he has been the MVP to start this season. He was the sole reason St. Louis snapped the winning streaks of Colorado and Vegas with his 3rd period performance stopping 39-40 shots in those two wins. He sits now at 4-0 in games where his team leads going into the 3rd period. On top off that, if you exclude the three losses against Montreal, New York and Los Angeles you have one of the best goalies in the league this year. I know it’s not easy to take those games out but Binnington suffered from lack of defense those games. You exclude those three, he has a .935 save percentage which would be 3rd best in the league
DID O’REILLY FIND HIS NEW PERRON
By no means am I stating that Josh Leivo is the new Perron for this team but I am stating that O’Reilly may have gotten his groove back with his new line mates. I didn’t realize the Saad effect was so massive for this team (6-2 with him & 0-6 without him) but he seems to be an important piece for O’Reilly. Since Leivo has been on ROR’s line they have produced 9 goals in 3 games. O’Reilly seems to have gotten his confidence back with Leivo on his line. Berube said that he holds onto the puck well behind the net which is massive for the success of O’Reilly and he’s reliable on the defensive end. If anything, it’s a temporary fix for a team that desperately needed better play from their captain. Best case is that the Blues found a secret weapon for a season turnaround.
WHICH DEFENSE IS REAL
Is it the defense that shut-out McDavid and the Oilers or the group that allowed backdoor tap-ins in a 3-game span that was infuriating? That answer is still TBD. I don’t think it’s as bad as we saw against the Canadiens, Kings and Islanders but I have been impressed in their last two games against two high powered opponents. What’s most surprising is how they have eliminated the center of the ice and in front of the net. The Avalanche game was a perfect example of keeping that offense to the outside in the offensive zone and allowing their goalie to make the saves. Individually, certain players have been beat in front of the net but as a five-man unit the Blues have eliminated high-danger scoring chances against two top offenses in the league.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS TEAM
Despite them putting 3 wins together the team is still struggling in special teams. Now, I say that with full knowledge of them stopping a PP at 5-3 that was at 48% on home ice, for 2:00. The PK is still towards the bottom of the NHL but making up with back-to-back performance of stopping the opponents PP. The bigger question is the PP. I think it’s making strides and sitting at middle of the league but still lacking the one-timer on the PP. It can be predictable at times which allows defenses to shut down any momentum with one simple fix. If they can find a way to make their PP a threat like last season that may be a lethal weapon to add to an already dangerous arsenal.
CONFIDENCE MAY BE THE BIG THING
This is certainly just an observation but the Blues have gotten their swagger back. That’s 3 straight games where they have led going into the 3rd period and locked down two points. That’s 3 straight games where they’ve scored 3 or more goals when many were questioning their offense. And they also have two strong performances (albeit losses) to EDM and BOS, as well as, victories over EDM, VGK and COL. The Blues seemed like a fragile team in the midst of their losing streak which might have been tough to come out of for many younger teams. But for some reason this team feels like they got their confidence back in how to play the right way, and that is what seems to be the most dangerous part of this team in November.
