Blues heading into Stanley Cup playoffs on a heater, again

History certainly has an odd way of repeating itself and this is certainly true in the NHL, where a mere seven franchises have lifted the Stanley Cup over the past 12 years in a league that ostensibly values parity above all.

As for the red-hot St. Louis Blues, who haven’t lost in regulation since March 27, there are striking parallels to the 2019 team that won it all for the first time in franchise history, going from worst-to-first during the course of the year.

Is this a mirage or a narrative fallacy? St. Louis leads the NHL with a 1.027 PDO percentage — a calculation of a team’s on-ice shooting and save percentages, which has been viewed as a clear determinant of luck. There’s reason to believe that the Blues’ current run of form is unsustainable, but critics also said the same thing about the 2019 team that caught fire and upended the favoured Boston Bruins in seven games.

We’re going to attempt to solve this problem in this piece. Any discussion of the 2021-22 Blues must start with Ville Husso, who supplanted Jordan Binnington from his starter’s perch with a formidable season that should earn down-ballot Vezina consideration. In what may be ironic fate, Husso catching fire to lead a contending Blues team into the playoffs is pretty much the same formula from three years ago, as Binnington took over the crease and never looked back — many were surprised when he didn’t win the Conn Smythe Trophy, although in retrospect, Ryan O’Reilly’s win isn’t an egregious mistake.

Husso, the 94th-overall selection of the 2014 Draft, has been a revelation for the Blues during his second NHL campaign, posting a .923 save percentage and 2.46 GAA to go along with a stellar 24-6-6 record. More impressive are his slightly deeper stats: in just 38 games, Husso has recorded a…