It has been a frustrating year to say the least for the Blues (and Blues fans.) They do have a bright future ahead of them as their first few weeks of the season showed. But all the injuries to so many key players has thinned out their talent level, kept them from getting into a good rhythm, and just flat out worn them down. Losing three of their top 6 (long term) in Perron, McDonald, and Oshie has obviously been the biggest blow. The defense has gone through quite a lot of injuries this year as well (although most are back now, minus Colaiacovo who got hurt last night.) The only real consistent offensive threat right now is coming from Steen and Backes... that eventually wears on the whole team. Guys like Berglund and stone-hands Boyes have been very inconsistent.
In the end, I'm not worried about Halak at all. He's been a little streaky but overall he's solid. Pietrangelo and EJ will lead the defense for years to come and have been great. We've got a lot of young offensive talent that should come around, but we definitely need more offensive talent on the team. I'm hoping for a move to help our offense SOON. Short term, Oshie should be back soon and that will make a huge difference. He adds so much more to the team than his offense. And, the success of the Blues the rest of the year really is going to depend on if Perron and McDonald can rejoin the club. We haven't heard a word from them in forever... so that isn't good.
Bottom-line, the Blues will likely remain pretty inconsistent until some of their key offensive players return. Long-term (minus injuries) I think they are moving in a good direction. And, some short-term improvement is nearing with Oshie's return. And I wouldn't worry at all about Halak. He has been one of the few bright spots of this season and I think will have a strong second half. He just needs more consistency playing in front of him (like the year started.) No doubt he'll be our #1 for years to come... and a very good #1.
Hope this helps (from a homer!)
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Offensive Stats: G, A, P, +/-, PPP, PIM, HITS, SOG
Goalie Stats: W, GAA, SV%, SHO
Roster: C,C,C,LW,LW,LW,RW,RW,RW,D,D,D,D,D,Util,G,G,BN(5),I R(2)
C: Backstrom, Bergeron, Stepan, Ribeiro, RNH, Stastny
LW: Zetterberg (C/LW), Sharp (C/LW), Schenn (C/LW), Vanek (LW/RW)
RW: Ovechkin (LW/RW), Backes (C/RW), Callahan, Versteeg (LW/RW)
D: Byfuglien (D/RW), Phaneuf, Suter, Franson, Gudas
G: Price, Bobrovsky, Allen
IR: Elliott, Dubinsky (C/LW)
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Originally Posted by Vertig0
