The St. Louis Blues have won six consecutive games and are shooting up through the Central Division despite injuries to key players. Vladimir Tarasenko is the talk of the NHL and keeps scoring big goal after big goal. The goaltending duo of Brian Elliott and Jake Allen is performing better than expected and are eliminating any concerns fans had prior to the year. All of these positives – and there’s a lot of them – are masking some extremely troubling trends.
Where’s the offense? Tarasenko is on fire with eight goals in 12 games, but that’s where the offense begins and ends.
"@tomtimm: Just correcting my math, 7 of last 12 Blues goals by Tarasenko."
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) November 5, 2014
That’s a troubling statistic. Jay Bouwmeester had a nifty snipe, but the rest of the team’s goals are mostly forgettable. Patrik Berglund’s accidental goal is so Patrik Berglund it’s not even funny. Summarized, the team’s offense has been all Tarasenko and no one else. Alexander Steen and David Backes have been quiet. The lamp seems to remain off unless Tarasenko is firing the puck.
There’s been chances – lots of chances – but the Blues have been unable to convert. The usual motto of “high and wide” has been in full effect. So too have been “shoot at the goalie’s chest” and “let the defense block your shot” over the last several games.
Tarasenko’s hot streak is insane and doing more for the Blues than many might believe. Remove his offense and the Blues may be looking at a lengthy losing streak as opposed to six wins and 12 points. The young Russian will eventually cool, so it’s vital other members of the offense start contributing.
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