# 1970–71 St. Louis Blues season

The 1970–71 St. Louis Blues season was the St. Louis Blues' fourth season in the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Blues began the 1970–71 season with high hopes after making a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in the 1969–70 season. They purchased Christian Bordeleau from the Montreal Canadiens, who led the team in scoring and finished in the top five in game winning goals that season. They also sold Hall-of-Famer Jacques Plante to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
During this season the Blues saw the most ties in their history (19), as well as most home ties (9), and the fewest home losses (7).

## Regular season
### Divisional standings

West Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 49 | 20 | 9 | 277 | 184 | +93 | 107 |
| 2 | St. Louis Blues | 78 | 34 | 25 | 19 | 223 | 208 | +15 | 87 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 28 | 33 | 17 | 207 | 225 | −18 | 73 |
| 4 | Minnesota North Stars | 78 | 28 | 34 | 16 | 191 | 223 | −32 | 72 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 25 | 40 | 13 | 239 | 303 | −64 | 63 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 21 | 37 | 20 | 221 | 240 | −19 | 62 |
| 7 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 20 | 53 | 5 | 199 | 320 | −121 | 45 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Blues points | Opponent's score | Record | Streak | Points |
| 1 | October 10 | Rangers | W | 3 | 1 | 1–0–0 | W1 | 2 |
| 2 | October 12 | Canucks | W | 4 | 1 | 2–0–0 | W2 | 4 |
| 3 | October 14 | @Maple Leafs | L | 3 | 7 | 2–1–0 | L1 | 4 |
| 4 | October 17 | Sabres | W | 4 | 1 | 3–1–0 | W1 | 6 |
| 5 | October 18 | @Black Hawks | T | 2 | 2 | 3–1–1 | T1 | 7 |
| 6 | October 21 | @Golden Seals | T | 2 | 2 | 3–1–2 | T2 | 8 |
| 7 | October 23 | @Canucks | T | 1 | 1 | 3–1–3 | T3 | 9 |
| 8 | October 24 | @Kings | L | 1 | 3 | 3–2–3 | L1 | 9 |
| 9 | October 28 | Golden Seals | W | 3 | 2 | 4–2–3 | W1 | 11 |
| 10 | October 31 | Kings | W | 3 | 0 | 5–2–3 | W2 | 13 |
| 11 | November 5 | @Bruins | W | 2 | 0 | 6–2–3 | W3 | 15 |
| 12 | November 7 | @North Stars | T | 1 | 1 | 6–2–4 | T1 | 16 |
| 13 | November 12 | Red Wings | W | 2 | 1 | 7–2–4 | W1 | 18 |
| 14 | November 14 | Canadiens | T | 1 | 1 | 7–2–5 | T1 | 19 |
| 15 | November 15 | @Flyers | W | 2 | 1 | 8–2–5 | W1 | 21 |
| 16 | November 17 | North Stars | L | 3 | 5 | 8–3–5 | L1 | 21 |
| 17 | November 19 | @Penguins | W | 1 | 0 | 9–3–5 | W1 | 23 |
| 18 | November 21 | Black Hawks | T | 3 | 3 | 9–3–6 | T1 | 24 |
| 19 | November 24 | Bruins | T | 5 | 5 | 9–3–7 | T2 | 25 |
| 20 | November 26 | Maple Leafs | W | 1 | 0 | 10–3–7 | W1 | 27 |
| 21 | November 28 | Canucks | W | 5 | 1 | 11–3–7 | W2 | 29 |
| 22 | December 2 | @Rangers | L | 2 | 4 | 11–4–7 | L1 | 29 |
| 23 | December 3 | @Canadiens | L | 3 | 6 | 11–5–7 | L2 | 29 |
| 24 | December 5 | Red Wings | W | 3 | 0 | 12–5–7 | W1 | 31 |
| 25 | December 6 | @Red Wings | W | 4 | 2 | 13–5–7 | W2 | 33 |
| 26 | December 9 | Flyers | L | 2 | 5 | 13–6–7 | L1 | 33 |
| 27 | December 11 | Penguins | W | 3 | 2 | 14–6–7 | W1 | 35 |
| 28 | December 13 | @Flyers | T | 2 | 2 | 14–6–8 | T1 | 36 |
| 29 | December 15 | North Stars | W | 2 | 1 | 15–6–8 | W1 | 38 |
| 30 | December 16 | @Black Hawks | L | 3 | 8 | 15–7–8 | L1 | 38 |
| 31 | December 19 | Bruins | L | 1 | 7 | 15–8–8 | L2 | 38 |
| 32 | December 23 | Canadiens | T | 2 | 2 | 15–8–9 | T1 | 39 |
| 33 | December 26 | North Stars | T | 1 | 1 | 15–8–10 | T2 | 40 |
| 34 | December 27 | @Rangers | T | 4 | 4 | 15–8–11 | T3 | 41 |
| 35 | December 30 | Flyers | W | 5 | 2 | 16–8–11 | W1 | 43 |
| 36 | January 2 | @Canucks | W | 3 | 1 | 17–8–11 | W2 | 45 |
| 37 | January 3 | @Kings | W | 7 | 3 | 18–8–11 | W3 | 47 |
| 38 | January 6 | @Golden Seals | L | 3 | 6 | 18–9–11 | L3 | 47 |
| 39 | January 9 | Canucks | T | 2 | 2 | 18–9–12 | T1 | 48 |
| 40 | January 10 | Rangers | L | 2 | 4 | 18–10–12 | L1 | 48 |
| 41 | January 12 | Golden Seals | W | 8 | 2 | 19–10–12 | W1 | 50 |
| 42 | January 14 | @Sabres | L | 1 | 2 | 19–11–12 | L1 | 50 |
| 43 | January 16 | Black Hawks | W | 3 | 2 | 20–11–12 | W1 | 52 |
| 44 | January 21 | @North Stars | L | 3 | 5 | 20–12–12 | L1 | 52 |
| 45 | January 23 | Sabres | W | 7 | 1 | 21–12–12 | W1 | 54 |
| 46 | January 27 | @Canadiens | L | 3 | 5 | 21–13–12 | L1 | 54 |
| 47 | January 28 | @Red Wings | T | 1 | 1 | 21–13–13 | T1 | 55 |
| 48 | January 31 | @Bruins | L | 0 | 6 | 21–14–13 | L1 | 55 |
| 49 | February 3 | @Maple Leafs | L | 2 | 6 | 21–15–13 | L2 | 55 |
| 50 | February 5 | Penguins | T | 2 | 2 | 21–15–14 | T1 | 56 |
| 51 | February 7 | @Flyers | W | 6 | 2 | 22–15–14 | W1 | 58 |
| 52 | February 9 | Maple Leafs | T | 3 | 3 | 22–15–15 | T1 | 59 |
| 53 | February 11 | Bruins | L | 3 | 5 | 22–16–15 | L1 | 59 |
| 54 | February 13 | Rangers | W | 2 | 1 | 23–16–15 | W1 | 61 |
| 55 | February 14 | @Rangers | L | 1 | 2 | 23–17–15 | L1 | 61 |
| 56 | February 16 | Golden Seals | W | 5 | 1 | 24–17–15 | W1 | 63 |
| 57 | February 20 | @Maple Leafs | L | 1 | 3 | 24–18–15 | L1 | 63 |
| 58 | February 21 | @Sabres | W | 3 | 1 | 25–18–15 | W1 | 65 |
| 59 | February 24 | @Penguins | T | 5 | 5 | 25–18–16 | T1 | 66 |
| 60 | February 25 | @Red Wings | W | 3 | 1 | 26–18–16 | W1 | 68 |
| 61 | February 27 | @Canadiens | L | 2 | 3 | 26–19–16 | L1 | 68 |
| 62 | March 3 | Black Hawks | L | 1 | 5 | 26–20–16 | L1 | 68 |
| 63 | March 5 | Maple Leafs | W | 3 | 1 | 27–20–16 | W1 | 70 |
| 64 | March 7 | @Bruins | L | 1 | 4 | 27–21–16 | L1 | 70 |
| 65 | March 9 | Kings | L | 0 | 4 | 27–22–16 | L2 | 70 |
| 66 | March 10 | @North Stars | L | 0 | 4 | 27–23–16 | L3 | 70 |
| 67 | March 13 | Sabres | W | 9 | 0 | 28–23–16 | W1 | 72 |
| 68 | March 14 | @Black Hawks | T | 4 | 4 | 28–23–17 | T1 | 73 |
| 69 | March 16 | Canadiens | W | 6 | 2 | 29–23–17 | W1 | 75 |
| 70 | March 18 | @Sabres | L | 3 | 5 | 29–24–17 | L1 | 75 |
| 71 | March 20 | Red Wings | W | 2 | 1 | 30–24–17 | W1 | 77 |
| 72 | March 23 | @Canucks | L | 1 | 4 | 30–25–17 | L1 | 77 |
| 73 | March 26 | @Golden Seals | W | 8 | 5 | 31–25–17 | W1 | 79 |
| 74 | March 27 | @Kings | W | 6 | 3 | 32–25–17 | W2 | 81 |
| 75 | March 30 | Kings | W | 4 | 3 | 33–25–17 | W3 | 83 |
| 76 | April 1 | Flyers | T | 1 | 1 | 33–25–18 | T1 | 84 |
| 77 | April 3 | Penguins | W | 4 | 3 | 34–25–18 | W1 | 86 |
| 78 | April 4 | @Penguins | T | 1 | 1 | 34–25–19 | T1 | 87 |

## Playoffs

| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score | Series |
| April 7 | Minnesota | 3 | St. Louis | 2 | 0–1 |
| April 8 | Minnesota | 2 | St. Louis | 4 | 1–1 |
| April 10 | St. Louis | 3 | Minnesota | 0 | 2–1 |
| April 11 | St. Louis | 1 | Minnesota | 2 | 2–2 |
| April 13 | Minnesota | 4 | St. Louis | 3 | 2–3 |
| April 14 | St. Louis | 2 | Minnesota | 5 | 2–4 |
Minnesota wins series 4–2.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Christian Bordeleau | 21 | 78 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 48 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
| Bill Sutherland | | 68 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank St. Marseille | 9 | 77 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Jim Lorentz | 19 | 76 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Red Berenson | 7 | 45 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 12 | | | | | |
| Garry Unger | | 28 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 41 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 20 |
| George Morrison | 10 | 73 | 15 | 10 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Ecclestone | 14 | 47 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 34 | | | | | |
| Gary Sabourin | 11 | 59 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 56 | | | | | |
| Craig Cameron | 16 | 78 | 14 | 6 | 20 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Jim Roberts | 6 | 72 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 77 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| Bill McCreary Sr. | 15 | 68 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Fran Huck | | 29 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Terry Crisp | 12 | 54 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Wayne Connelly | | 28 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Barclay Plager | 8 | 69 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 172 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Noel Picard | 4 | 75 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 119 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 26 |
| Bob Wall | 2 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | | | | | |
| Carl Brewer | | 19 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 29 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Curt Bennett | | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brit Selby | | 56 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 23 | | | | | |
| Larry Keenan | 18 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | | | | | |
| John Arbour | | 53 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 81 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Plager | 5 | 70 | 1 | 19 | 20 | 114 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | | | | | |
| Norm Dennis | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Hornung | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |
| Al Arbour | | 22 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Bill Plager | 23 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ab McDonald | 20 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | | | | | |

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
| Ernie Wakely | 31 | 51 | 2859 | 20 | 14 | 11 | 133 | 3 | 90.4 | 2.79 | 3 | 180 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | | 2.33 |
| Glenn Hall | 1 | 32 | 1761 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 71 | 3 | 91.6 | 2.42 | 3 | 180 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | | 3.00 |
| Michel Plasse | | 1 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 91.7% | 3.00 | | | | | | | | |

## Draft picks

St. Louis's draft picks at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 23 | Murray Keogan | Canada | University of Minnesota Duluth (NCAA) |
| 3 | 37 | Ron Climie | Canada | Hamilton Red Wings (OHA) |
| 4 | 51 | Gord Brooks | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 5 | 65 | Mike Stevens | Canada | University of Minnesota Duluth (NCAA) |
| 6 | 79 | Claude Moreau | Canada | Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA) |
| 7 | 85 | Jack Taggart | Canada | University of Denver (WCHA) |
| 7 | 92 | Terry Marshall | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL) |
| 8 | 104 | Dave Tataryn | Canada | Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA) |
| 9 | 108 | Bob Winograd | Canada | Colorado College (WCHA) |
| 9 | 111 | Mike Lampman | Canada | University of Denver (WCHA) |
| 10 | 112 | Jeff Rotsch | United States | University of Wisconsin (WCHA) |
| 11 | 113 | Al Calver | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHA) |
| 12 | 114 | Jerry MacDonald | Canada | St. Francis Xavier University (CIAU) |
| 13 | 115 | Gerald Haines | Canada | Kenora Muskies (MJHL) |