In the first few months, the St. Louis Blues have been struggling with their special teams, mainly on the power play, but their penalty-killing units have been scoring shorthanded a lot. They are the most disciplined team in the league and have the fewest amount of penalty minutes (321). It leaves one question, how are they taking the least amount of penalties and still have the most shorthanded goals in the league? Well, there are a lot of aspects to this and it could be because they carry a well-balanced lineup on the penalty kill, however, overall it is not the best in the league in terms of penalty kill percentage (PK%) as it currently sits at 23rd. For the season, the Blues have gone shorthanded 127 times and killed 99 of those penalties, so there are still some cracks in their penalty-killing units.
Looking back at Friday’s game (Jan. 26) against the Seattle Kraken, there was an even amount of penalty minutes between the Blues and the Kraken as both teams finished with a total of four. Despite that, the Blues killed one out of the two penalties they allowed and shut down the Kraken after they outshot the Blues 36-18. However, one game will not determine whether or not they have the best or worst penalty-killing unit in the league, but it’s a start at fixing the cracks within it. That being said, let’s take a look at what has been working for them on the penalty kill.
Toropchenko & Buchnevich Thriving Shorthanded
When shorthanded, Alexey Toropchenko and Pavel Buchnevich have put up a shorthanded goal twice this season and are responsible for four of their 11 goals. It’s mostly surprising from Toropchenko considering he’s not their best goalscorer but his drive to keep the puck in the offensive zone at all costs has been an undervalued trait, especially since the Blues are struggling to kill their penalties. As for Buchnevich, he’s been a reliable goalscorer since he was traded to the Blues in 2021 and continues to shine with a larger role on the roster. He is playing on both the first power play unit and second penalty-killing unit making him a special teams gem for the Blues. I can’t forget to mention he is also paired with Robert Thomas on both those units and finds a lot of success doing so. He is also relied upon to shoot more when shorthanded as he leads the Blues in shorthanded shots with eight.
When it comes down to other shorthanded point contributors, Oskar Sundqvist and Thomas have both been stellar at finding the right plays when down to three or four men. With Thomas’ superstar playmaking and Sundqvist’s great hockey IQ countering the attack off a block or a save, it has benefited the Blues greatly in finding offensive chances in tougher situations. In addition, the Blues have more offensive talent on the way with Jimmy Snuggerud and Otto Stenberg, two great forward prospects who could be on the special teams in the future. While players like Buchnevich and Sundqvist are nearing their 30s, there will have to be more replacements in store for them and that’s where prospects like Snuggerud and Stenberg come in. One could argue they are mainly power play players, but it won’t hurt the Blues if they give them an opportunity on the penalty-killing units as well.
Fewer Penalties, the Same Defensive Breakdowns
As mentioned earlier, the Blues have the fewest penalty minutes in the league which is surprising considering most of their defenseman are at the age of 30 or higher. The downside of having too many veteran defensemen is more defensive breakdowns due to quicker fatigue, which they’ve also struggled with. So far, the Blues are within the top 20 teams with the most goals against and it has also been something that has hurt them on the penalty kill. Keep in mind, that the trade deadline is right around the corner and Colton Parayko could be potential trade bait to bring some young blood to the Blues’ defensive core. By gaining more youth within their lineup, it could make endurance on the penalty kill a lot easier than it is now.
Despite Parayko being one of their most valuable shutdown defensemen, his value on the penalty kill could be useful if the Blues aren’t able to get within a playoff spot before the trade deadline. However, another problem with the Blues’ defense overall could be the number of minutes their top defensive players are getting at their age. That could also just be because they are without Justin Faulk due to his injury.
Out of the top 50 players with the most minutes in the league, there are three Blues defensemen listed and they are Parayko, Nick Leddy, and Torey Krug. Parayko has the most amount of shorthanded minutes (129) out of those three, meaning he is taking the bulk of the load when trying to kill off penalties. Despite that, the Blues’ defensive situation may get worse for the next three years as they won’t have opportunities to trade them until the next two to three years with their no-trade clauses expiring within that range.
Final Thoughts
Throughout all the cracks in their defense, the Blues are finding much more success at winning games and are now on a five-game winning streak because of their great effort. While their defensive situation may be a threat to their good offensive form, the effort is still there when they need it. If their special teams continue to improve on the power play, there is a chance they could have something good out of that part of their lineup. As for the penalty kill, it should be in a better defensive state if Faulk is cleared to return soon from an undisclosed injury and there is no estimated timeline on when exactly that will happen. For now, the Blues will have to use this upcoming All-Star break as an opportunity to get some rest.
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