The St. Louis Blues are the oldest team in the NHL to never win a Stanley Cup Championship. The past few years, St. Louis has been trying to change that. They have made the the playoffs 39 times since they joined the NHL in 1967.

Ever since 2011, the year they acquired new ownership and new head coach Ken Hitchcock, the Blues have had a successful string of four straight playoff appearances and two central division titles. The Blues have remained a major threat in the NHL during the regular season for the past four seasons.

As of December 3, the Blues are 15-7-3 and in second place in the Central Division. Vladimir Tarasenko leads the team with goals and points, 14 and 24 respectively. Alexander Steen leads the team with 12 assists.

Sophomore Avirath Dodabele had this to say about the St. Louis Blues.

“Vladimir Tarasenko is my favorite player, but I am really beginning to like Jake Allen. Hockey is great to watch because it is fast paced, and the Blues are great at going fast. The Blues are young and want to out skill their opponents on the ics. I am really hoping the Blues manage to get past the first round of the playoffs, and hopefully win the Cup,” he said.

The Blues have a rare dynamic in that they frequently start both goalies, Brian Elliott and Jake Allen, 4-2-1, and 11-5-2 respectively. The Blues have been running a goalie tandem, previously Elliott and Jaroslav Halak, since the 2011-2012 season. This seems to be working quite well this season. The Blues have a goals against average (GAA)  this season of 2.44, good enough for ninth in the NHL. Jake Allen personally has a GAA of 2.13, which is tenth in the NHL.

Junior Zachary Klingler, also a hockey player, had some thoughts about the Blues.

“I love the Blues,” said Klingler. “Steve Ott is my favorite and I try to play like him. I have been watching them since I was a little kid. This year I am really hoping they win the cup.”

Junior Lorna Schoemehl had something similar to say.

“I have grown up watching hockey,” Schoemehl said. “The Blues have always been my favorite. I love seeing Vladimir Tarasenko playing. I am just hoping the Blues are able to win the conference and the Stanley Cup.”

This season’s Blues have gotten a big boost from some new players. Names that stick out this year are defensive players Robert Bortuzzo, Carl Gunnarsson, rookie defensemen Colton Parayko, and rookie forward Robby Fabbri. Parayko is 1st among all rookie defensemen in the NHL in goals, assists, points, and plus/minus rating. Parayko is also tied for 6th among all defensemen in the NHL for goals scored and number one in plus/minus rating. Robby Fabbri was hurt for a while with a concussion but has scored a few game winners. Bortuzzo and Gunnarsson have both been solid defensemen this season.

History teacher Carrie Steele has been known to be a big hockey fan.

“My family watches hockey all the time. My kid loves it,” Steele said. “When I was younger my mom was a Cardinals fan, but my dad and I always liked the Blues. In years past the Blues have always been gangbusters in the regular season but can’t manage to get out of the first round of the playoffs. As a team, the Blues have gotten a lot of slack for being subpar in the playoffs, and I want that to change. I just really want to see the team parading the Cup in our city.”