2013–14 St. Louis Blues season

Jaroslav Halak became the Blues' leader in shutouts with his 17th on October 5, with a 7–0 victory over the Florida Panthers at the Scottrade Center, surpassing Glenn Hall's 16.[2] Hall's record took 140 games (1968–1971), while Halak's took him only 121 games since he joined the Blues in June 2010.[3]

The Blues have opened the season with a 4–0 start on October 12 with a home win against the New York Rangers, the first time they have started that perfectly in their 47-year history. The game was also their 10th consecutive home win dating back to last season.[4]

Alexander Steen was named the First Star of the Month for October on November 1, having the best start of his NHL career. He scored 11 goals, including four power-play goals, and sat fourth in the NHL with 16 points in the team's 10 games played for the month.[5]

The Blues' telecasts earned the highest ratings in October in the team's 18 seasons on Fox Sports Midwest, with a 3.5 rating, 94% higher than in October 2011 (1.8), and 13% higher than the team's previous October best, a 3.1 in 1997. The Blues were 7–1–1 in October.[6]

Steen scored his NHL-leading 14th goal on November 7 against the Calgary Flames, the game-winner. Alexander Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos had tied him with their 13th earlier in the evening. He was the first Blues' player to score 14 goals in the team's first 14 games since the 1991 season, when Brett Hull scored 16. Maxim Lapierre scored his first goal as a Blue and goaltender Brian Elliott earned his 100th career win in stopping 18 shots out of 20. Jordan Leopold got his first two points of the season (both assists), while Kevin Shattenkirk got an assist on the Blues' second goal, giving him at least one in his seventh consecutive game, the longest in the NHL this season. He has eight in that span.[7]

On November 16, Steen scored his NHL-leading 17th goal, the game-winner with 6:20 into the third period, and earlier added an assist to pass Sidney Crosby for the points lead at 26, in a 4–2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Steen also extended his NHL-best points streak to 13 games, totaling 13 goals and five assists in that stretch. Blues' Head Coach Ken Hitchcock also won his 618th game, passing Jacques Lemaire for ninth place on the all-time list.[8] Steen's consecutive game streak of at least one point ended at 13, in the next game on Nov. 17.

On November 23, Coach Hitchcock got his 621st win, passing Bryan Murray for eighth place on the all-time list.[9]

On November 25, Jaroslav Halak got his 27th career shutout, a franchise-record 18th as a member of the Blues and his second this season.[10]

On November 27, Steen scored his 20th goal, tying Alexander Ovechkin for the NHL lead, in the Blues' fifth consecutive win. The Blues were 10–1–1 in their past 12 games for a 19–3–3 record and 41 points.[11]

Alexander Steen scored his 23rd and 24th goals in a 5–1 win on December 19, after earlier in the day signing a 3-year, $17.4 million contract extension to keep him as a Blue through to the 2016–17 season. His 24 goals, tying his career-high after only 34 team games (23–7–4), were second in the NHL only to the 28 scored by Alexander Ovechkin. Brenden Morrow earned his 300th career assist. The team was 48–0–1 in the previous 49 home games when scoring three goals or more.[12] Steen, the second-highest goal scorer in the NHL with 24, was sidelined with an upper-body injury during the second period of the December 21 game against the Edmonton Oilers.[13] He was placed on injured reserve with a concussion on December 28. He had last played on December 21, leaving in the second period. He led the Blues with 24 goals (second in the NHL) and 38 points.[14]

Chris Stewart was named First Star of the Week on December 23, for his performance in the week ending December 22, after earning six goals and one assist. He beat Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) and Matt Duchene (Colorado).[15]

On December 23, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper attended the Blues' game in Calgary against the Flames.[16]

On December 28, the Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks in a thrilling 6–5 shootout at Scottrade to gain a point on the Blackhawks, and now within six points of division-leading Chicago, but with four games fewer played. The Blues were twice down by two goals, but came back to tie in regulation and then through a scoreless overtime. The Blues have beaten Chicago all three games played with two coming in shootouts, with this game playing without their top scorer, Alexander Steen. Dmitrij Jaskin scored his first NHL goal.[17]

Three Blues' players were named to the 2014 Winter Olympics, men's USA Olympic team in Sochi, (February 7–23). David Backes, 29, T. J. Oshie, 27, and Kevin Shattenkirk (to be 25 then), were named to the team after the 2014 Winter Classic game on January 1. Backes (Minneapolis, Minnesota) was named to the USA Olympic team for the second time, Oshie (Everett, Washington), and Shattenkirk (New Rochelle, New York) for the first.[18]

Vladimir Sobotka was named to the Czech Republic's men's Olympic team,[19] but a leg injury on January 31 prevented him from participating in the Olympics.[20]

The Blues had their best start in the first half of the season (41 games) in team history after the January 4 game, with a 29–7–5 record and 63 points.[21]

Goalie Brian Elliott was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week on January 6 for the week ending Jan. 5, after posting a glittering 3–0–0 record with a 1.00 GAA and a 0.962 save percentage, including one shutout, the 24th of his career and 15th with the Blues. That was one shy of Glenn Hall for #2 in team history. He came within eight seconds of a second shutout against the Minnesota Wild on New Year's Eve.[21]

Jay Bouwmeester, 30, and Alex Pietrangelo (to be 24 then), both defensemen, represented Canada on the men's Olympic team.[22]

Vladimir Tarasenko represented Russia on the men's Olympic team. He was a native of Yaroslavl.[23]

Jaroslav Halak represented Slovakia on the men's Olympic team.[24]

The Blues were back on top of the TSN Power Rankings on January 13, and had a +1.34 per game goal differential.[25]

Alexander Steen returned to a full practice with the Blues on January 13, still out with a concussion. He led the Blues in goals (24) and scoring (38 points) as of his December 21 injury. His 38 points were fifth in the NHL. This was his concussion, after losing 39 games during the 2011–12 season. The Blues were able to play at a 7–1–1 pace in his nine missed games, through January 10.[26] His 38 points led the Blues until T. J. Oshie scored twice in the January 14 game, giving Oshie 39 points with a team-leading 29 assists to go with 10 goals, but playing in 45 games to Steen's 35 games. He was activated on January 17, after missing 11 games since his concussion on December 21. He was fifth-ranked in goals with 24. Named to Sweden's men's Olympic team, as was teammate Patrik Berglund.[27] They were selected on January 7. Steen, 29, representing Sweden for the fourth time overall, first time at the Olympics. Berglund, 25, for the fifth time overall, first time at the Olympics.[28] Altogether, 10 Blues' players have been selected to five countries' Olympic teams.

On February 6, coach Ken Hitchcock won his 110th game with the Blues, tying him for fourth place with Scotty Bowman on the Blues' list. With the OT win, the Blues moved within two points of Chicago for first place in the Central Division, and three points of the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks.[29]

On February 15, at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, T. J. Oshie scored four shootout goals in six attempts (in a preliminary round only for seeding purposes), including the game-winner in a thrilling 3–2 win for the U.S. over Russia in front of 11,678 screaming fans[30] at the Bolshoy Ice Dome.[31][32][33] Video.[34] Oshie was a player on the "bubble" whether the U.S. team would add him to its roster or not, but took him because of his success rate in shootouts.[35] At the time of the Olympic break after the February 8 game, Oshie was tied for the team lead in points (46, 14 goals and 32 assists in 57G) with team goal-scoring leader Alexander Steen (28 goals and 18 assists in 46G).

On February 28, the Blues traded Jaroslav Halak and Chris Stewart, along with minor leaguer William Carrier and a first-round pick in 2015 and third-round pick in 2016, in exchange for goaltender Ryan Miller and forward Steve Ott of the Buffalo Sabres.[36] Miller and Ott joined the Blues on Sunday for their road game against the Phoenix Coyotes.[37]

The Blues took over the top spot in the NHL after their March 9 win with 94 points, and became the first team to pass the 100-point level (47–14–7), for the sixth time in their history after beating the Winnipeg Jets on March 17. On March 16, the team lost forward Vladimir Tarasenko because of a hand injury from the previous game on March 15.[38] T. J. Oshie missed his first game of the year, the wild St. Patrick's Day game with numerous fights, to see the birth of his daughter earlier in the day. The Blues are four points ahead of their closest competitors, the Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks, and San Jose Sharks for the Presidents' Trophy with 14 games to play.[39]

On March 22, the Blues clinched a playoff spot for the third consecutive season and 38th in franchise history, after the Phoenix Coyotes lost after the Blues lost to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Blues lead the Western Conference with 101 points (47–16–7) with 12 games remaining.[40]

With his 16th career shutout for the Blues and 25th career shutout on March 24, Brian Elliott tied Glenn Hall for second place. He accomplished his 25th shutout in only his 209th start. It was the fifth fastest to 25 shutouts in modern NHL history. After 28 games, Elliott has a 17–5–2 record, 1.97 GAA, a .921 save percentage and fourth shutout this year. Jaroslav Halak holds the Blues' record with 20 shutouts.[41]

T. J. Oshie was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week on March 31, for the week ending March 30. He tied for second place with six points in three games, including his first career hat trick on March 27.[42]

The Blues set a new team wins record with their 52nd on April 3, breaking the record held by the 1999–2000 Blues team that had 51 wins, 114 points, and won the Presidents' Trophy that season. They were in a strong position for the trophy with 111 points (52–17–7), over Boston by losing one less game then the Bruins, with six games remaining.[43]

On April 4, Alexander Steen was nominated by the St. Louis chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The trophy is awarded annually to the player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." Steen led the Blues with 33 goals, and was tied for the team lead with 60 points despite losing 11 games from a concussion in December.[44]

The Blues Central Division lead evaporated after their fourth consecutive loss on April 10, while the Colorado Avalanche won, tying the Blues with 111 points, but having the season's head-to-head advantage over the Blues.

T. J. Oshie was hit high by the Wild's Michael Rupp on April 10, in the middle of the second period. Rupp was immediately given a 10-minute match penalty, and subsequently a four-game suspension without pay, from the NHL Department of Player Safety for the illegal hit to the head. The suspension covers the last regular season game and three playoff games. Rupp forfeited $7,692 for those four games.[45] Oshie had 21 goals, and was second on the team with 60 points.[46]

Just before the regular season came to an end, the Blues were battling several key injuries which contributed to their season-high five-game losing streak headed into the final game on April 13. T. J. Oshie, David Backes, Vladimir Sobotka, Derek Roy, Brenden Morrow and long-injured Vladimir Tarasenko were available for the final game. Patrik Berglund got hurt in the final period of the April 12 game. The playoffs started on April 17.[47]

Of the eight players sidelined by injury who couldn't play in the last regular season game on April 13, six returned for the first game of the first playoff round, against Chicago on April 17. One of the six was Vladimir Tarasenko, who suffered a broken hand on March 15 with surgery on March 19, and was not expected to be evaluated until after the end of the first round.[48] Only T. J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund won't be ready.[49]

Fox Sports Midwest had a record broadcast season covering the team. The Blues were seen in 4% of homes in the St. Louis area market who had a television. The previous record was last year (2012–13 season) with a 3.9 rating. The Blues' rating ranked fifth among U.S.-based NHL teams.[50]

Coach Ken Hitchcock, 62, was extended through the 2014–15 St. Louis Blues season on May 7, as were associate coach Brad Shaw and assistant coach Ray Bennett. The club announced that assistant coach Gary Agnew, and goaltending coach Corey Hirsch were not retained. Hitchcock was the 24th head coach of the Blues, starting on November 7, 2011. He had a 124-55-20 (.673) record in his three years, a record for a Blues' coach. He was an Edmonton, Alberta native, who has a 657-405-78 (.602) lifetime NHL coaching mark.[51] On May 13, 2014, the Blues announced they had hired former Carolina Hurricanes head coach, Kirk Muller as an assistant coach to Hitchcock.[52]

Legend:   Win   Loss   Overtime/shootout loss

Legend:   Win   Loss   Overtime/shootout loss

Final stats[66]

(through final regular season game on April 13, 2014)

Playoffs (through final game on April 27, 2014)