Remember when the Blues traded for Jaroslav Halak and expected him to be the guy to lead them back to the playoffs and beyond?
Ah, those were the days.
This season, it’s been a different story with Brian Elliott playing out of his mind, including a shutout of Vancouver last night, while Halak has struggled mightily. A bad sign of things to come this year for the usual Blues starter? Should he be freaking out about things the way fans in Vancouver are about Roberto Luongo? No way.
Halak is, instead, taking everything in stride and giving it a more zen-like approach believing that this too shall pass in time and things will get turned around for him. Perhaps with fans’ attention in St. Louis being directed elsewhere at the start of the season thanks to the Cardinals being in the World Series and the fact that Vancouver is a cutthroat hockey town while St. Louis is a bit more laid back.
It probably doesn’t hurt any that St. Louis isn’t coming off a Stanley Cup finals seven-game series loss either. For now, Brian Elliott is stealing the show, but if Halak doesn’t get things turned around, the Blues’ run isn’t going to last very long.