Considering the Detroit Red Wings’ history-making home streak and how bad most of the Southeast Division teams have been on the road, the following observation might surprise you:
You could argue that no team could gain as much from home ice advantage as much as the St. Louis Blues.
Blues bold at home
Blame it on the advantage of line changes and matchups at home, the inconsistency of a young roster or any other factor as much as you’d like, the Blues are an elite team at home (28-4-4) and average (15-14-3) on the road.
The good and the bad
The team’s potential home dependence is the bad news - especially since they’re just a stride or two ahead of the Detroit Red Wings for the Central Division crown.
The good news is that St. Louis currently sits atop the entire NHL with 93 points after beating the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 tonight, leaving them two points ahead of the East-leading New York Rangers. (The Blueshirts do have two games in hand, so don’t give the Blues the Presidents Trophy just yet.)
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Considering the fact that Ken Hitchcock took over as the season was already in action, it’s tough to truly gauge the Blues’ power. Are they absolutely elite, maybe in the second tier or perhaps not as good as they seem on paper? Feel free to share your thoughts on the rising upstarts in the comments.