The Blues came out of a brutal three-game road swing with a 1-2-0 record, and the trip gave an early snapshot of exactly what this team is dealing with. There was a shutout win to start the season, a lopsided loss, and then a late rally that came up short. Three games, three very different looks, and plenty for Jim Montgomery’s group to sort through before Thursday’s home opener against the San Jose Sharks.
One thing has already become clear: the offense is being carried by the younger names.
Mason McTavish, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Connor McMichael have combined for five of the Blues’ seven goals through the first stretch of the season. That production has come without much early impact from Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich, Dylan Holloway, or the rest of the club’s expected top-six core. McTavish and Dvorsky have each scored twice, McTavish has won more than 52 percent of his faceoffs, and McMichael led the team on the road trip with three points.
That matters because the roster is supposed to be built around players like Thomas, Holloway, Snuggerud, and Buchnevich setting the tone offensively. If the Blues want to get moving in the right direction quickly, that group has to start producing once they get back to the Enterprise Center.
The clearest bright spot so far has been Joel Hofer.
He’s done more than hold the fort - he’s making a strong case that the crease belongs to him. Over his two appearances, Hofer stopped 42 of 44 shots, good for a .955 save percentage and a 1.03 goals-against average. By expected-goals numbers, he prevented nearly three more goals than the average NHL goalie would have been expected to allow on those chances.
That’s especially impressive considering some of those looks came after breakdowns in front of him, with defenders leaving him exposed. Hofer still bailed the Blues out more often than not.
The problem area that keeps resurfacing is the second period.
Last season, St. Louis was outscored 98-86 in the middle frame, and early signs suggest that issue hasn’t gone anywhere.
The Blues were badly outplayed in two of their first three games, including the 6-0 loss to Dallas. In that game, they managed only 27 percent of the shot attempts in the second period.
Against Colorado, they allowed four goals in the middle stanza alone.
Even when the Blues did generate a little momentum, especially on the power play, they struggled to create clean looks. Shooting lanes were hard to come by, and finishing chances was even harder.
It’s still only nine periods into the season, so there’s time to clean things up. But a 12.5% power play won’t get the job done for long.
Now Montgomery and his staff have to piece together what worked in the opener against Dallas, fix the lapses that showed up in the other two games, and push this team toward a full 60-minute effort Thursday night against the Sharks. If they don’t start finding answers soon, this could turn into a long season in St. Louis.
In Other News...
Blues Loss Exposed A Bigger Problem Than Just Chicago
A loss to the Blackhawks is bad enough on its own, but the 4-2 result also put a spotlight on some of the Blues deeper issues. The top line never really drove the game the way it needed to, and the offense as a whole spent too much time looking for rhythm instead of creating it, even as the second line with Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael offered one of the few steady stretches in the lineup.
The bigger concern is that the problems did not stop at even-strength play. St. Louis also came up short when chances with the man advantage were there, which made the night feel less like a one-off and more like a warning sign. If the Blues are going to turn this into a quick correction rather than a lingering trend, they will need more from the players expected to set the tone and more finish from the group that is supposed to punish mistakes. [Read more 🡒]
Pavel Buchnevich Is Playing For More Than A Hot Start
Pavel Buchnevich entered this season with some pressure attached, and not just because the St. Louis Blues want more offense from one of their established forwards. His point totals have dipped over the past four seasons, turning what once looked like a steady top-six presence into a player whose long-term fit is now worth watching closely as the year unfolds.
The first two games have only sharpened that conversation, because the Blues are trying to figure out whether Buchnevich can still be part of their core or whether his value is better leveraged elsewhere. A productive start would help quiet the noise around him and improve the teams options, while an uneven year could leave St. Louis with a harder decision and less to work with if it chooses to explore a move. [Read more 🡒]