The Blues spent October leaning on a small but important core of players who kept them afloat through a 6-6-1 start. The record was ordinary, but the goal differential was razor thin - St. Louis scored 39 and allowed 38 - and the difference came from a young group up front, a defenseman eating major minutes, and one goalie giving the club a real chance most nights.
Jimmy Snuggerud was at the center of the scoring push. He finished the month with a team-high seven goals on 29 shots, a 24.1 percent success rate that probably won’t last forever, but the production was impossible to ignore.
The 22-year-old added nine points and averaged nearly 17:30 of ice time per game, showing just how much he was driving play every night. His shot rate - 2.2 per game - will need to climb, but October made one thing clear: he’s a real scoring threat.
Mason McTavish brought a different kind of value. His six goals came on a team-leading 41 shots, and that volume suggests this wasn’t just a hot streak.
He also chipped in four assists for 10 points and won 51.4 percent of his faceoffs. For a center brought in during the offseason, the early return looks a lot like what St.
Louis had in mind.
Dylan Holloway also played a major role, even after a recent lineup tweak sent him to the third line. He led the Blues with 11 points, including three goals and a team-best eight assists, while logging close to 17:45 per night. His minus-2 rating was the only real blemish on a strong month, and his 28 shots on goal sat below his career average, leaving room for that number to rise.
Robert Thomas kept the offense moving too. The captain finished with two goals and seven assists in 13 games, and he logged more than 20 minutes a night - the highest average among St.
Louis forwards. His two goals came on just 14 shots, another number the Blues will want to see increase as the season goes on.
Philip Broberg gave the back end a big lift. He matched Thomas with nine points, scored three goals, and averaged 23:34 per game, the most on the team. Broberg also put 30 shots on goal, which ranked second on the roster.
But the biggest difference-maker in October was Joel Hofer. He started nine of the team’s 13 games and went 5-3-1 with a .923 save percentage, a 2.24 goals-against average, and one shutout. Jordan Binnington, by contrast, had a rougher month in his four starts, going 1-3 with an .846 save percentage, a 4.11 goals-against average, and a minus-4.8 goals saved above average rating.
There were other notable contributors as well. Jake Neighbours posted four goals and three assists, while Justin Barron put up six points in 10 games and averaged more than 16 minutes of ice time.
In Other News...
Joel Hofer Is Giving The Blues A Goalie Question They Wanted
Joel Hofer has turned a familiar Blues concern into something closer to a luxury problem. In nine games, he has handled a heavy workload and delivered enough timely stops to keep St. Louis in games against Dallas, Winnipeg and Vegas, giving the club a steadier presence in net than it could reasonably have expected this early in the season.
The bigger question now is how far this run can carry him. Hofer has moved from backup duties into the starting role, and if he keeps stacking up performances like these, he could push himself into the conversation for top goaltender recognition. For a Blues team that has spent plenty of time searching for answers in goal, that is exactly the sort of development worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Goalie Pipeline Suddenly Looks Deeper Than Fans Realized
The Blues have settled their crease for now with Joel Hofer taking over as the starter and Jordan Binnington moving into the backup role, but the organizations long-term picture looks a little more interesting than it did a year ago. Two sixth-round picks, Love Harenstam and Will Cranley, are both making real progress as possible future depth options, giving St. Louis more reason to feel good about the pipeline behind its current tandem.
Harenstam is developing in Swedens HockeyAllsvenskan and has put together strong performance metrics there, while Cranley is getting early AHL work that has turned heads in a small sample. For a team that has spent plenty of time sorting out its goaltending future, having two late-round swings trending in the right direction is the kind of quiet organizational development that can matter down the line. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Bring Theo Lindstein Back As Blue Line Pressure Builds
The Blues added another layer to their blue-line depth chart by recalling Theo Lindstein from Springfield ahead of a four-game road trip. Lindstein had been sent to the AHL after his initial stint with St. Louis, but hes been productive with the Thunderbirds and now gets another chance to stay in the mix as the schedule tightens up.
The timing of the move suggests the club is preparing for some uncertainty on defense, especially with Colton Parayko dealing with an upper-body injury. Parayko missed practice Friday and is still considered probable for the next game, leaving the Blues to balance caution, depth and travel as they head out on the road. [Read more 🡒]