Through nine games, the Blues are last in the NHL in shots with 23.9 per game. They’ve been shutout in two of their last three games, and in those games they’ve registered 15 shots (4-0 loss to Los Angeles) and 19 (1-0 loss to Carolina).

The Blues desperately need to put more shots on goal.

While there are exceptions, there is a direct correlation between goals and shots. The Detroit Red Wings lead the NHL with 38.2 shots per game, and not coincidentally, they have scored the most goals with 41. San Jose is No. 2 in the league, averaging 36.9 shots per game, and they’re No. 5 in the league in goals with 37.

Yes, the Blues are scoring goals - they’re No. 13 in the league with three goals per game. But if they don’t start getting more shots, particularly playing 5 on 5, that number will drop.

The reason?

The Blues have scored 29 goals this season, and 13 of them have come on the power play. It’s great that the team is No. 1 in the league on the power play at 31.7 percent. No one would predicted that at the start of the season.

But that means the Blues are scoring 44.8 percent of their goals on the power play. Hey, you’ll take them any way you can get them, but that’s relying too heavily on your power play.

After Thursday’s 1-0 loss to Carolina, Blues coach Andy Murray said, “I thought our whole issue all night was not getting shots on net. We had a number of guys that didn’t get shots. A guy got one shot who should have had three, four for us.”

Lee Stempniak, Patrik Berglund and David Backes were the three forwards with one shot Thursday.

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Murray has mixed up two of his lines for tonight’s game against Pittsburgh. This is how the combinations looked this morning:

Lee Stempniak-Andy McDonald-Brad Boyes: stays the same, Stempniak and Boyes need to be better.

Paul Kariya-T.J. Oshie-David Perron: Oshie back at center, after playing wing with Berglund/Perron

Keith Tkachuk-Patrik Berglund-David Backes: Berglund centers this line, trying to get him going.

Dan Hinote-Jay McClement-Cam Janssen: Stays the same, the Blues most productive line lately.

Scratches: Yan Stastny, David Koci

Perron, on playing with Oshie lately: “It’s fun. We’re both guys that like to play in the corner and cycle the puck a lot.”

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It appears that rookie defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will return to the lineup. He’s been out since suffering the boarding hit by Ryan Hollweg in Toronto on Oct. 13.

Pietrangelo said he didn’t have to convince the Blues to let him play tonight. “No, it was their decision,” Pietrangelo said. “I had a good week of practice, so it probably helped the cause.”

The situation with Pietrangelo should get interesting now. If he had played every game this season, he would be at nine right now, and the Blues would have to make a decision to keep him or send him back to junior hockey. Because of the injury, Pietrangelo has played only three games, well short of the nine-game trial allowed by the NHL. If he plays in the next six straight, the Blues will be forced to make a decision after the Nov. 14 game at Chicago.

Here’s the defensive pairings for tonight:

Eric Brewer-Barret Jackman

Jay McKee-Roman Polak

Alex Pietrangelo-Steve Wagner

Scratch: Mike Weaver

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Chris Mason is back in goal tonight. He was spectacular in Thursday’s 1-0 loss to Carolina.

In case you missed the news yesterday, Chris Holt has been called up to be the backup tonight.

Who is Chris Holt? Two weeks ago, he was playing with the Blues’ ECHL affililate, the Alaska Aces.

“I hadn’t even played a game yet (in Alaska),” Holt said. “I had split two preseason games, so I had yet to play a full 60 minutes of hockey this season. It was the day of the Alaska season opener and I got to the rink for pregame skate and I saw my bag on the floor. I said, ‘Either I’m cut, or I’m going somewhere.’”

With Marek Schwarz and Ben Bishop in St. Louis, Holt was called up to Peoria to be the starter last week, and now he finds himself in St. Louis. The Blues wanted Schwarz to get some game action in Peoria, so that’s why the move was made.

Holt is capable if called upon. He’s a former NY Ranger draft pick who has played one game in the NHL and been the backup for about 15 other games. In fact, Blues President John Davidson and Holt had a few conversations when the two were with the Rangers, and Holt said that could have played a part in him coming here. Not all of the conversations were about hockey. At one time, Holt wanted to be a TV broadcaster, and had the luxury of picking Davidson’s brain on the industry. Now he hopes he can hold off that broadcasting career.

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Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby is dealing with a hip-pointer injury, but he was on the ice for the Penguins’ morning skate and will be in the lineup tonight.

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The Blues have been involved in three straight shutout games (one for and two against). The last time the club played in three consecutive shutouts was in 1988, when the Blues won three in a row behind goalie Greg Millen.

JR