Recapping the St. Louis Blues’ Top 5 First Half Storylines

Mar 27, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; The St. Louis Blues ice crew gather hats after Blues right wing T.J. Oshie (not pictured) receives a hat trick against the Minnesota Wild during the third period at Scottrade Center. The Blues won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

5. Hat-Tricks Galore

The Blues have had an incredible amount of hat tricks over the first half, as there have been six different instances over the first 41 games where an individual player has had a three-goal performance.Vladimir Tarasenkoleads the team with two (on October 28 and December 16), whileJaden Schwartz(October 14) and Jori Lehera (November 11) both have one, andT.J. OshieandDavid Backeshad hat tricks on back-to-back nights this past weekend, with Backes’s being a four-goal performance.

This year’s Blues, who lead the NHL in hat tricks, are the first team to have five players record hat tricks in a single season since the 2011-12 Edmonton Oilers, which is especially impressive considering that they’re only halfway into the season. They’re the first Blues team to have at least five different players with hat tricks in a season since the 1984-85 Blues, who are tied for the NHL’s record in the category.

While hat tricks aren’t necessarily an indicator of success in the standings, the Blues have made a statement by having so many of these performances in the first half of the season. If they can continue to put up the level of offense that they’ve done so far, they should have an easier time achieving postseason success, as inconsistent offense has been their downfall over the past few years in the playoffs.

Next: 4. Injuries and Illness Strike

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