Top Five Second Half Goals for the St. Louis Blues

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3. Make Dmitrij Jaskin an Impactful Contributor

21-year-old forward Dmitrij Jaskin really seemed to have emerged as a regular contributor following his late December recall, as he dressed in 12 straight games, scoring three goals and notching three assists over that span while also establishing himself as a strong physical presence on a line with Paul Stastny. However, he had a couple of less-than-stellar games, and he was quickly pulled from the lineup to accommodate the presence of Joakim Lindstrom.

After two games off, Jaskin was returned to the lineup, but Ken Hitchcock stated at that point that Jaskin needed to play a more physical game, rather than relying on his offense, to stick in the lineup. At 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds, that’s definitely doable for Jaskin, but it should be interesting to see if he is able to do it well enough in order to hold off Lindstrom, who hasn’t exactly been an electrifying offensive presence when he’s been in the lineup this year.

Jaskin is especially valuable due to the fact that he seems to drive Stastny to play at his highest level. Getting continued contributions from him will be crucial as the Blues get closer to the playoffs, as having him in the lineup come the postseason would be much more beneficial than giving his spot to an energy guy like Chris Porter or a finesse, inconsistent offensive performer like Lindstrom or Magnus Paajarvi.

Next: Keep Vladimir Tarasenko on Pace Offensively