St. Louis Blues
The Blues will try to rebound from being one of the biggest letdowns of last season. They missed the playoffs on the last night of the season, finishing with 94 points. A respectable point total, but not with their talented roster. They have another great roster on paper that just needs to put it all together on the ice.
This team has the quality depth similar to what the two teams ahead of them possess. Both offensively and defensively they have numerous weapons from top to bottom. They’re built to make a deep run towards the Stanley Cup. It’s just not conceivable to see this talented group fall flat again down the stretch. The Blues lost four of their last six, including a 6-0 romping at the hands of Arizona, to fall short of the final wildcard spot.
Jake Allen needs to be more consistent for the Blues to avoid heartbreak again. However, if he comes into form, the Blues have a great chance at stealing the division crown from the Predators. A 100-point season is very conceivable with all of the scoring weapons like Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, and Alex Steen. The acquisition of Ryan O’Reilly from Buffalo provides even more depth to help this squad make things interesting at the top of the division.