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St. Louis Blues: 5 Players with Something to Prove After the All-Star Break

By Patrick Karraker

January 8, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen (34) defends the goal against Anaheim Ducks during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
January 8, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen (34) defends the goal against Anaheim Ducks during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 18, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues teammates celebrate after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

Which St. Louis Blues players are under the most pressure to contribute as the season hits its home stretch?

For someone who’s watched the first 52 games of the St. Louis Blues’ 2015-16 season, it’s certainly easy to feel like they’ve been a middling team at best (a stretch from November 12 to December 17 without a set of back-to-back wins will make that happen). In reality, though, the Blues are in pretty good position at the All-Star break, which is a real accomplishment considering that core players like Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny, and Kevin Shattenkirk have all missed at least 10 games due to injury.

Though the Blues have already played 52 games–only the division-leading Chicago Blackhawks have played more–they have 64 points, which ranks them third in both the Central Division and the Western Conference, putting them in very good position to earn a fifth straight playoff berth. With Schwartz seemingly set to return shortly after the All-Star break, the Blues should be healthier than they’ve been since the start of the season, and things certainly are looking up as the home stretch approaches.

With that said, the Blues have plenty of unknowns to be wary about going forward. There’s still the possibility of a goalie controversy between Jake Allen and Brian Elliott as the season draws to a close. Guys like Robby Fabbri, Colton Parayko, and possibly Ty Rattie are expected to be contributory parts of the Blues’ lineup going forward, but none has ever played a full NHL schedule, and it’s completely unknown how they’ll hold up the rest of the way. The Blues have had enough injuries on the blueline thus far that they’ve never really been forced to settle on a group of six defensemen, so if their core group of seven stays healthy for a while, they still need to settle on a regular group.

With all these question marks remaining as the season hits its most important point, there are definitely a few Blues players who will have significant pressure on them following the All-Star break.

Here are five Blues who have something left to prove as the team plays its final 30 regular season games:

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