The Detroit Red Wings' overtime win last night leaves them without a lot of breathing room, but at 9-1-2 the St. Louis Blues have extended their stay atop the Western Conference's Central Division ahead of Wednesday's contest with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Their 20 points put them in a four-way tie atop the NHL, despite having played just 12 games, the second-lowest total in the league.
↵And as difficult as it may be to continue allowing 1.5 goals per game, the Blues' record is anything but fluky—their goal differential is tops in the NHL, and six better than the 19-point Red Wings.
↵Now that they've finally started playing more than once a month it will be interesting to see how the Blues react. They'll play five games from this Wednesday to next Wednesday, including an important matchup at Detroit on November 17. The prospect of Jaroslav Halak being unable to start every game might be less frightening than it was Sunday, Ty Conklin having shut out the Rangers in his second start of the year, but the season will have a different feel when the Blues have caught up in games played to the rest of the NHL.
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