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Mika_Kandinsky · 05-15-2019, 02:59 PM

Siberia Sports Presents:
A Look at St. Louis Season Heading into the Playoffs

St. Louis - The St. Louis Scarecrows started S47 with expectations. Those expectations were incredibly high. The Scarecrows were coming off of three previous Four Star Cup wins in a row. To say they demanded success is an understatement. This season saw the team being lead by their experienced core of players up and down the lineup. They also saw their rookies step in and make an impact for the team. A tight knit and positive locker room, the team has been strong and have their eyes set on the playoffs. They are not letting the success of the regular season cloud the goals they have set for themselves, and that is a deep run into the playoffs and a fourth Four Star Cup victory. So let's take a look at St. Louis regular season and see how they fared and how things have looked according to their expectations.

Currently, with only one game left to play in the regular season, the St. Louis Scarecrows are sitting in first place with a record of 32-14-3 which brings them to 67 points, two points more than the second place Montreal Militia. Both teams have a game in hand. The Scarecrows are on the brink of clinching first place for the regular season. It appears things have gone to plan for the team and they have found success this season. They had a dominant run in the middle of the season and went on an incredible 13 win streak in that time. This win streak solidified them as the top team in the league once again.

That isn't to say they haven't had their struggles. After that win streak their record has been 10-11. Not exactly what you want to see heading right into the playoffs. Their dominant run faltered and the other teams below them caught up in the standings. They weren't getting the performance they needed from their goaltenders and their special teams were letting them down in this span. The Scarecrows say their penalty kill particularly struggle in this time, which also effected the performance numbers of their goaltenders.  Despite these struggles later in the season, the team still has a strong resolve. They are feeling positive and know that come playoff time, it will be all work and focus for the players.

It shouldn't be surprising that a team as dominant as the Scarecrows have a very balanced score sheet. The team saw 11 of their players score 30 points or more as it stands currently and three players scored above 40 points. That's incredible depth scoring on a team that has been putting up strong performances. Maybe, what is surprising, is the performance by the third line of Noah Gallagher - Gaspard Boone - Nicolaj Muller. Combined this line has a whopping 104 points between them. They were able to find chemistry together and provided a steady dose of depth scoring for the Scarecrows. This third line proved to be a huge boost for the team throughout the regular season. Being able to rely on your third line for solid scoring allows the other lines more breathing room and less pressure. It also wreaks havoc on opposing teams because they now have to somehow find a way to shut down three offensive power house lines.

The scoring was so balanced across the team, in the leader stats we can see the 4 out of top 7 points/20 players are from St. Louis. On top of that, 6 of the top 10 players in +/- are Scarecrows, with the top 3 positions all held by Scarecrows forwards. Which brings us to how great St. Louis plays at even strength. Their strong even strength play drives them and allows them to get their wins. Out of their 185 goals on the season, only 31 goals came on the power play. That's 83% of their goals scored at even strength. They keep the play in the opposing team's end and put not he pressure when evenly matched. This is a part of their game that they are going to want to continue as they head into the playoffs. A team can't afford not to produce at 5v5 in playoff hockey.

As the playoffs begin and the team looks to make a deep run, we've talked about depth scoring but haven't mentioned their 4th line lead by rookie center and Siberia's own, Mika Kandinsky. The line of Valeri Tikhonov - Mika Kandinsky - Barrett Blackwood has been very good for the Scarecrows in their limited playing time. Now that the rookies of the line, Kandinsky and Blackwood, have a full season under their belt, they are looking to improve and be even more impactful during the playoffs.  The fourth line for the Scarecrows combined for 33 points on the season and considering that they are only on the ice for 10% of the game, that's pretty good for a line with two rookies on a stacked team. That line will hope to improve their p/20 in the playoffs and contribute more offensively as they've been ramping up nearing the end of the season.

Another area where the Scarecrows would like to see some improvement for the playoffs push is going to be in their goaltending. Starting goaltender Billy Sorokin has had great games and poor games and his save percentage sits at .880 and GAA at 2.96. He is leading the league in wins, however. So the team has been really good around him. Perhaps the lower stats are indicative of two rookie defenseman playing on the team this season. They are still learning and improving their game, so Sorokin has been asked to carry a bigger burden in keeping pucks out of the net. This has been a tall task and Sorokin has been good enough. But, the Scarecrows aren't going to be looking for good enough goaltending. They want to see great goaltending through the playoffs if they want to win another championship. Sorokin is going to have to take the next step and reach another level to help carry the team deep into the playoffs.

IF the Scarecrows can keep finding the chemistry between their lines, improve their special teams, and keep firing on all cylinders during 5v5 play, expect them to make a deep run and challenge for their fourth straight Four Star Cup victory. The team believes in itself right now and they are going to give each other a boost of confidence knowing that there is so much skill on the team and there are good veteran leaders that can help guide rookies on how to play in the playoffs. We look forward to seeing what kind of noise the Scarecrows can make in the playoffs.