5 questions for Blues in Stanley Cup Qualifiers

NHL.com is looking ahead to the Stanley Cup Qualifiers by examining five of the biggest questions facing each of the 24 remaining teams. Today, we look at the St. Louis Blues.

The St. Louis Blues were 42-19-10 (.662 points percentage) and will enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as one of the top four teams in the Western Conference. They will play a round-robin against the Colorado Avalanche (42-20-8, .657), Vegas Golden Knights (39-24-8, .606) and Dallas Stars (37-24-8, .594) to determine seeding in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The West qualifiers will start Aug. 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

Here are 5 key questions facing the Blues:

1. What impact will Vladimir Tarasenko have?

Tarasenko had surgery to repair a dislocated left shoulder Oct. 29 and was about a week away from returning to the lineup when the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. The forward said Monday he used the extra time off to get the shoulder even stronger and feels he'll be close to 100 percent whenever the round-robin begins. Prior to this season, Tarasenko scored at least 33 goals in each of the previous five seasons, including an NHL career-high 40 in 2015-16. If he's able to return to the level he was at prior to his injury, when he scored 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in the first 10 games of the season, the Blues would be adding one of the top goal-scorers in the NHL to a lineup that already had the best record in the Western Conference.

2. How do they fix the penalty kill?

The Blues were 18th in the NHL on the penalty kill this season at 79.3 percent, including 73.8 percent (27th in NHL) in 22 games after Jan. 18. One option to improve it could be more ice time for Ivan Barbashev, who was fourth among Blues forwards with 1:36 of shorthanded ice time per game but led St. Louis with two shorthanded goals. He also won 45.5 percent of shorthanded face-offs, second on the Blues to Ryan O'Reilly (51.0 percent) among St. Louis forwards who played at least 30 games.

3. Is Zach Sanford a top-six forward?

Sanford, who scored an NHL career-high 16 goals and 30 points in 58 games this season, emerged as a second-line left wing after the All-Star break. He scored 12 goals in the final 22 games before the season was paused, including four against the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 13. Can Sanford maintain that level of play? He led the Blues with an average of 1.17 goals per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (minimum five games) but scored four goals in his first 36 games. He could start the round-robin on a line with O'Reilly and David Perron, but he'll have to prove that he should stay there.

4. Can Marco Scandella continue to contribute?

The Blues needed a veteran defenseman after Jay Bouwmeester's season-ending cardiac episode Feb. 11. They acquired Scandella in a trade from the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 18, and he fit seamlessly playing with Colton Parayko on the second defense pair. Scandella averaged 20:18 of ice time in 11 games, when the Blues allowed 26.5 shots on goal per game, down from the 30.1 they allowed in their first 60. His strong defensive play also allowed Parayko to add to the attack. Parayko had nine points (four goals, five assists) with Scandella as his partner, his 0.82 points per game more than double the 0.36 he averaged before the trade.

5. Is Robert Thomas ready for more?

Last season, Thomas was a rookie bottom-six forward who wasn't counted on much. This season, he has become a significant contributor as third-line center. The 20-year-old's 2.45 points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 led the Blues, and he averaged 13:07 of 5-on-5 ice time per game, fifth among St. Louis forwards who played at least 20 games. Thomas, who scored 42 points (10 goals, 32 assists) in 66 games, is an upgrade from Tyler Bozak, the third-line center on the Blues' championship team in 2018-19, and gives St. Louis impressive depth down the middle with O'Reilly and Brayden Schenn.