Goaltending largely has been the Achilles’ heel for the St. Louis Blues in the playoffs ever since the franchise’s inception. Tied for the most points at the Olympic break, inconsistent play from Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott could prevent the club from making a serious run at the Stanley Cup.
The Blues’ front office has three options as they head down the home stretch of the regular season:
1. Stay the course
Halak and Elliott are very good—during short stretches, even great. But neither has been able to put a stranglehold on the No. 1 job in St. Louis.
Halak started the season strong, posting 14 wins with a .915 save percentage in October and November. Struggles in December led to just three victories and a .885 save percentage before rebounding with a 1.70 goals-against average in January.
Goalies are entitled to their ups and downs, but when Halak struggles, the challenge appears to be as much mental as physical.
Reliability also has been a major issue. Injuries have limited Halak to two playoff games for the Blues. Healthy at the end of last season, Coach ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Kerry Walls
Net Change Necessary for St. Louis Blues’ Cup Hopes?
February 20th, 2014 by Kerry Walls Leave a reply »
Advertisement