Kevin Lorenz posted on February 06, 2012 13:15
Once again Pekka Rinne owned the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night making 42 saves in the Predators 3-1 victory. Two truths: 1) With a 30-11-4 record, a .925 % 2.37 GAA, and 4 shutouts, Rinne is one of the best goalies in the league. 2) With his 4-0 record, a 
1.20 GAA, and .967 % in four games against the Blues, a playoff matchup against the Predators and Pekka Rinne would be less than desirable.
There’s been a lot of talk about how many points the Blues will need to secure a playoff spot. Since the lockout, the average point total for the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference is 94 points. In that same span, the highest total an eighth seed needed was 97 points (2010-2011), and the lowest point total was 91 points (07-08, and 08-09). While the West has been bottlenecked over the past couple of years the average distance in points between first and eighth has been around 22 points since the lockout.
Should all things play out as they have so far (which is of course not at all likely), here is how the Western Conference looks:
1. Detroit 111 pts.
2. Vancouver 108
3. San Jose 105
4. St. Louis 107
5. Nashville 105
6. Chicago 100
7. Los Angeles 93
8. Minnesota 91
9. Dallas 90
You can throw around the fact that the Blues have one of the best goalie tandems in the National Hockey League. In fact, the numbers may prove that at this point the Blues have THE best goalie tandem currently in the league. The Blues are one of two teams boasting goaltenders with sub-one goals against averages along with the New York Rangers. The best goaltender duos in the NHL are no surprise:
St. Louis Blues:
Jaroslav Halak: 15-9-5 1.97 .920 5 SO
Brian Elliott: 15-5-2 1.69 .940 5 SO
New York Rangers:
Henrik Lundqvist: 24-10-4 1.82 .940 6 SO
Marty Biron: 9-2-1 1.95 .920 2 SO
Boston Bruins:
Tim Thomas: 22-10-0 2.11 .930 4 SO
Tuukka Rask: 11-6-2 1.88 .940 3 SO