The St. Louis Blues’ preseason ended in messy fashion Saturday night, and the 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks had plenty of odd twists along the way. Goals were waved off, the clock malfunctioned long enough to help produce a Blackhawks goal, and an interference penalty wiped out a Blues score.
Even with the result, the bigger picture around this game was hard to miss: the Blues are heading into the 2026-27 regular season looking like a different team. The preseason finale marked the close of a summer, a preseason, and what the source calls the old era of the Blues. With a new General Manager, a new captain, and several new pieces forming the core, the next chapter is set to feel different from the one that just ended.
On the ice, St. Louis had enough going to suggest the performance was better than the final score.
The Blues outshot Chicago 31-22 and outhit the Blackhawks 25-21, yet still came away on the wrong side of a 3-2 result. They also had to deal with an early loss of defenseman Logan Mailloux, but the group kept competing and stayed connected despite the moving parts.
That matters, especially with the season about to begin. The Blues looked solid even with Mailloux leaving early, and the sense is that another defenseman can step in and fill that spot next to first-liner Philip Broberg.
The timing of the loss is not ideal, though the preseason is over and that part is behind them now. St.
Louis finished the four-game accelerated preseason 1-3-0 and scored five goals across those four contests. The regular season begins October 2 in Dallas, and the hope is that this group can put Saturday night behind it quickly.
These next few days are the last pause before things count for real. Training camp and the preseason were about building a new identity with the additions from the summer, but with only four preseason games, head coach Jim Montgomery did not get much room to test combinations or let certain lines and pairings settle in.
The next time the Blues take the ice, it will matter. Every goal, every penalty, every result will count.
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For a St. Louis organization looking for signs that its next wave is moving in the right direction, the early returns are the kind that matter. It is still very early, of course, but the breadth of the production is notable, with help coming from forwards and goaltenders alike across several leagues. The next question is how long that momentum can last once the schedule settles in and the competition tightens. [Read more 🡒]
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His role should be especially important in the quieter parts of a game, where defensive responsibility matters just as much as scoring touch. For a Blues team that wants flexibility and dependable depth, Suter gives the staff another piece who can stabilize the forward group and keep the lineup from feeling thin when changes are needed. [Read more 🡒]