Scoring first wasn't much of a help to Blues

Advantage Margin: 0
The Blues had a big difference in power plays at home (151) and on the road (128). The penalty kill was almost even, with 139 at home and 140 away from Scottrade Center.

Special Teams Goal Margin: +7
The Blues' power play scored just one more goal than the penalty-killers allowed (52-51), but St. Louis surrendered a League-low one shorthanded goal while scoring seven times while playing a man down.

Goals by defensemen: 37
The Blues could afford to deal Eric Brewer (eight goals) in a late-season trade because of the emergence of Alex Pietrangelo (11 goals, 43 points) and the arrival of Kevin Shattenkirk (nine goals, 34 assists with Colorado and St. Louis).

Overtime Record
Total: 7-5-6 OT: 3-5 SO: 4-6
The Blues were second in the NHL in shooting percentage in the shootout (16-for-38, 42.1 percent), but their goaltenders surrendered 18 goals on 40 shots. Ty Conklin stopped only one of seven tries in losing both of his decisions.

Times Scored First: 46
Record: 27-14-5
The Blues helped themselves by being among the NHL's most prolific teams at scoring first. But they tied Atlanta for the League lead with 14 regulation losses after getting the game's first goal and led the NHL with eight of those losses at home.

Best 2010-11 Number: 10
Shutouts by the Blues, the most in the Western Conference and one off the League lead. Newcomer Jaroslav Halak had seven of the 10.

Worst 2010-11 Number: .368
St. Louis' winning percentage in one-goal games, third-worst in the NHL. The Blues missed the playoffs largely because they won only 14 of their 38 one-goal games, while going 24-20 in games decided by two or more goals.

Scheduling
The Blues open with a pair of games at Scottrade Center, then sandwich a pair of four-game trips around a home game against Carolina. They have five-game homestands in November, December and January, but face a gruesome February-March stretch that includes a six-game trip, three games at home and a seven-game swing through all four time zones. They also have 16 back-to-backs.

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