Top Five Second Half Goals for the St. Louis Blues

Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

4. Sort Things Out with the Defensemen

The Blues started the season with plenty of consistency on the blueline, sticking with a stable group until Carl Gunnarsson returned from a hip injury and then using the same defensive lineup for 13 straight games from October 28 to November 22 after Gunnarsson returned.

Ever since the Blues went through a series of shakeups in late November and early December, including the trade of Jordan Leopold, the recall of Chris Butler and Petteri Lindbohm, and injuries to Gunnarsson and Jay Bouwmeester, things have been unstable for the Blues’ defensemen.

Ian Cole, who dressed in the season’s first 26 games, has frequently been a healthy scratch over the subsequent 20. Butler, who got off to a hot start and played in 16 of 17 games from November 23 to December 30, has since started to struggle and has been a healthy scratch for four straight games. The 21-year-old Lindbohm, who was unexpectedly given a chance to play in the AHL this season after initially being expected to play in Finland, has jumped both Cole and Butler on the depth chart at times and has played in nine games with the NHL club this season, though he is back in the minors for the moment.

After the break, the Blues need to make more of a firm decision on who is going to be part of the defensive lineup. Ken Hitchcock has frequently said that he wants someone to take the spot and run with it, and that player may very well be Cole now that he’s received the vote of confidence in four straight games.

While there will probably be injuries that allow Cole and Butler to get into the lineup together, it’s best for team fluidity if the staff settles on just one of them to take the bulk of the starts, rather than shuffling between them every time one of them makes a mistake. Whether it’s Cole, Butler, or even Lindbohm, one of them needs to be trusted with the spot.

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