Will the Blues make the playoffs? That question will be answered later on. First let’s get down to the nitty gritty.
With 10 games left, the St. Louis Blues have their work cut out for them. Right now, 6 of the 10 teams they play are in the playoff picture: Boston (tonight), Columbus, San Jose, Vegas, Washington, and Colorado. The Blues currently sit two spots out of the Wild Card, trailing Dallas, and second to last in the Central Division standings. With that being said, the Blues aren’t out of it just yet. Have some hope St. Louis!
Taking a look just at the Western Conference, the Blues are a point back from the Stars and only 3 points behind the Anaheim Ducks who are in possession of the last Wild Card spot. With only being 7 points behind Minnesota, the Blues still have a shot at a top 3 in the division.
The Blues are .500 in their last 10 games which needs to change in order to keep their season alive. They have won two in a row, but both came in OT and both came against backup goaltenders. Jake Allen has started the last two games as well, but hasn’t looked stellar. He gave up 7 goals, averaging a save percentage of just .859. With Carter Hutton still nursing a neck injury, Jake Allen really needs to step up his game.
Let’s be realistic, the Blues seem too far out of a division spot. The Wild Card spot, however, is still up for grabs. If the Blues were to make the playoffs, this is what would need to happen. The ideal scenario is ending the season 6-3-1. The Notes would add 13 points to get to 96. In addition, the Ducks have played 1 more game and the Stars have played 2 more than the Blues. This is a huge advantage for St. Louis, especially only trailing the Ducks by 3 points and the Stars by 1.
The Ducks schedule looks like this: They play 4 out of 9 teams in the playoffs if the season ended today. All of those teams with more points than Anaheim.
The Stars schedule looks like this: They play 7 of their 8 games against teams currently in the playoffs if the season ended today.
That increases the Blues chances to pass the Stars and catch the Ducks. Today the Blues have a 42.7% chance to make the playoffs, according to Sports Club Stats. If they go 6-3-1 they will improve their chances to 75%. That means the Ducks have to end their season 4-4-1 and the Stars 5-2-1.
Regardless of the numbers, will the Blues make the playoffs? Yes and here’s why.
Jake Allen is going to get hot. In the last 15 regular season games last season, Allen went 11-2-2 with a .939 save percentage. In the 2015-16, Allen ended the regular season 8-2 with a .918 save percentage in the final 10 games. He is known for tearing it up when the final 10 games roll around.
Nonetheless, even if the Blues miss the playoffs….remember….the Blackhawks were eliminated first.
