16 Shutouts goaltender Brian Elliot has had since arriving in St. Louis, spanning 93 games. Projected Roster HEAD COACH: KEN HITCHCOCK LW C RW 1st Line Alexander Steen Paul Stastny T.J. Oshie 2nd Line Jaden Schwartz David Backes Vladimir Tarasenko 3rd Line Magnus Paajarvi Jori Lehtera Patrick Berglund 4th Line Peter Mueller Steve Ott Maxim Lapierre D D 1st Pair Alex Pietrangelo Jay Bouwmeester 2nd Pair Barrett Jackman Kevin Shattenkirk 3rd Pair Ian Cole Carl Gunnarson G Starter Brian Elliot Backup Jake Allen Scoreboard 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 PLAYOFF FINISH Conf QF Conf QF Conf SF DNQ DNQ REGULAR SEASON 52-23-7 29-17-2 49-22-11 38-33-11 40-32-10 POINT TOTAL 111 60 109 87 90 SHOOTOUT RECORD 9-3 5-1 4-10 6-5 7-5 GOALS SCORED 248 129 210 240 225 GOALS ALLOWED 191 115 165 234 223 POWER PLAY % 19.8 19.5 16.7 18.6 17.2 PENALTY KILL % 85.7 84.7 85.8 81.7 86.8 Tarasenko is primed for a breakout year. The Blues made a big splash in the free agent market as well by signing center Paul Stastny away from the division rival Colorado Avalanche. Stastny will slot in on the top line between Alexander Steen (33 goals, 29 assists) and T.J. Oshie (21 goals, 39 assists). You may remember Oshie from the U.S. Olympic team as he was called upon repeatedly to take the shootout attempts against Russia. He is a specialist in the area. The Blues hope Stastny’s (25 goals, 35 assists) arrival will free up Backes’ line to create more offensively. Defense With a top pair defense that rivals any in the league, the Blues have a sound group of players on the blue line. The conversation starts with Alex Pietrangelo when talking about the St. Louis defense corps. Pietrangelo finished fifth in the Norris Trophy race as he scored 51 points (8 goals, 43 assists) from the back-end. At just 24-years-old, his best years are ahead of him. While Pietrangelo is the star of this group, there are other players of note that make this a solid area for the team. Pietrangelo’s partner, Jay Bouwmeester (4 goals, 33 assists), is no slouch on the ice. Bouwmeester returned to the level of play that made him a Norris Trophy candidate early on in his career as he surpassed 30 points for the first time since 2008 when he was with the Florida Panthers. His return to this level of play allows Pietrangelo more freedom to roam in the offensive zone. While their top-pair defense is impressive, the depth the Blues have on the blue line is scary. On the second-pair, Kevin Shattenkirk has made himself known around the league as an offensively-gifted defenseman as he put up 45 points (10 goals, 35 assists) during the 2013-14 campaign. Once the playoffs hit, he continued to produce as he led the team in points in the postseason with five (1 goal, 4 assists). Expect more of the same in the upcoming season.
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