The St. Louis Blues currently sit in 13th place in the Western Conference standings. Sure they are only 5 points behind 8th place Colorado for the last playoff spot.
But 13th place is bad any way you dice it.
Sure the team has had its number of injuries this season and they are still waiting for the return of Andy McDonald and David Perron to the lineup.
But what excuse can you give for the Blues having the 26th rated power play and 20th rated penalty kill?
The Blues special teams units just are not that special and I am sick and tired of watching this hard working team lose games because of it.
How come when the Blues have the man advantage they seem to be consistently pressured by the defense, who, lets not forget, have one less man on the ice?
The Blues can't seem to manage to skate the puck in the zone even with the man advantage. Dump-and-chase hockey works during 5-on-5 play, but the team needs to spend less time chasing the puck along the boards and more time settling the zone, putting players in the center of the ice, and shooting at the net.
How come when the Blues are killing penalties our defense rarely pressures the other teams power play?
You rarely see teams struggle to gain the zone against the Blues. Instead, they walk right in, set up a wonderful play that ends up in a diagonal pass for a goal.
The Blues are in 13th place for a reason.
Its not because their top 3 forwards have been injured for most of the season.
Its because the Blues special teams units play like they just got off the short-bus.
But 13th place is bad any way you dice it.
Sure the team has had its number of injuries this season and they are still waiting for the return of Andy McDonald and David Perron to the lineup.
But what excuse can you give for the Blues having the 26th rated power play and 20th rated penalty kill?
The Blues special teams units just are not that special and I am sick and tired of watching this hard working team lose games because of it.
How come when the Blues have the man advantage they seem to be consistently pressured by the defense, who, lets not forget, have one less man on the ice?
The Blues can't seem to manage to skate the puck in the zone even with the man advantage. Dump-and-chase hockey works during 5-on-5 play, but the team needs to spend less time chasing the puck along the boards and more time settling the zone, putting players in the center of the ice, and shooting at the net.
How come when the Blues are killing penalties our defense rarely pressures the other teams power play?
You rarely see teams struggle to gain the zone against the Blues. Instead, they walk right in, set up a wonderful play that ends up in a diagonal pass for a goal.
The Blues are in 13th place for a reason.
Its not because their top 3 forwards have been injured for most of the season.
Its because the Blues special teams units play like they just got off the short-bus.
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