The St. Louis Blues are continuing to prove they are one of the NHL's hottest teams. They got a goal from T.J. Oshie midway through the third period to defeat the Dallas Stars by a score of 1-0 on Jan. 16 . It was the team's sixth win in seven games. St. Louis has 60 points, tying them with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers for the best record in the NHL.
Oshie scored in spectacular fashion. He was the recipient of a give-and-go and scored as he had his legs taken out from under him by goalkeeper Kari Lehtonen of Dallas.
Jaroslav Halak stopped 22 shots and earned his third shutout of the season. He made Oshie's goal stand thanks to the Blues' 32 shots .
St. Louis has earned 13 of 14 total possible points in January. They need every last one of them as the brutal Central Division is the best in hockey. Just four points separate the top four teams in the division. The Detroit Red Wings have 59 points and the Nashville Predators have earned 56. Four Central Division teams are currently in the top six seeds of the Western Conference if the playoffs were to start today.
All four of these teams also have more points than the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks and the Southeast Division-leading Florida Panthers.
The Blues have the most home victories of any NHL team with 19. Detroit and Chicago are right behind them with 18 and 17 home victories, respectively. That's how good the Central Division is this season.
The Blues will need all the victories they can muster at home. Away from home ice, they are just 8-9-3. After the All-Star Game, St. Louis has more games on the road than at home.
It's a great time to be a Blues' fan. Most of their games have been in the friendly confines of the Scottrade Center. Everyone is playing well. When someone gets hurt, other guys are stepping up to fill the void. It's great to have not one but two fantastic goalkeepers who continue to get better as the season gets further along.
The Blues are a young team that have developed well together. They will need that team cohesiveness in order to get more victories on the road down the stretch.
St. Louis has a date at home with the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 19 before welcoming the struggling Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 21. Both of the Blues' next two opponents are near the bottom of their respective division standings.
William Browning was born in St. Louis and has been a lifelong Blues fan.
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