The Blues get a little breathing room this week after a start that has already produced both sides of the coin: a decisive win over the Dallas Stars and then a rough one in Colorado, where the Avalanche sent them home with a lopsided defeat.
Now the schedule settles into a more normal rhythm. St.
Louis has three games on tap, including its home opener, and the early checklist is pretty clear. The power play needs work.
The top line needs to find some chemistry. And the first chance to reset comes right away against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Chicago is still waiting on Connor Bedard, who remains out for another few weeks, and the results have been ugly without him. The Blackhawks have dropped all three of their games in regulation and sit at minus-10 in goal differential, the third-worst mark in the league.
There is a chance Bowen Byram returns after missing Saturday’s game for a personal matter, and he’s expected to be back in the lineup tonight against the Blues. Joel Hofer is likely to start in goal, giving St.
Louis a good shot to bounce back from last week’s disastrous showing against Colorado.
There is also a milestone looming for Colton Parayko. He is expected to tie the franchise record for second most games played, with 803 matching Barret Jackman.
Bernie Federko’s 927 remains a long way off, but Parayko’s contract runs through 2030, and barring a trade or injury, he should eventually clear that number if he stays in St. Louis through the deal.
The home opener comes next against the San Jose Sharks, and this one is no automatic win. After Monday’s 5-0 loss to the Stars, San Jose still looks like a team that can make some noise if its rebuild keeps moving in the right direction.
Macklin Celebrini is at the center of that young core, and the Sharks no longer look like the easy mark they once were. In a weak Pacific Division, this could be the year their progress starts to show, which means the Blues will have to keep tabs on a group that is getting better fast.
The week wraps with another intriguing test in Columbus. The Blue Jackets fit the same profile as San Jose in one sense: young, unpredictable, and on the rise. They already made one of the bolder moves before the season, sending a noncommittal Kirill Marchenko to the Toronto Maple Leafs, along with a few other assorted pieces, in return for Matthew Knies and some additional assets.
That trade came in a season that already feels like a turning point for Columbus. Reigning Norris-winner Zach Werenski has signaled he may not want to stay once he is eligible for an extension next summer, and with Marchenko gone, the pressure only grows.
The Blue Jackets need a playoff run in a crowded Metropolitan Division, and they need it now. For the Blues, that means facing a team with plenty at stake and no room to waste.
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 🡒]
Blues Already Facing One Early Problem Fans Know Too Well
The Blues came home from their first road trip of the 2026-27 season with a 1-2-0 record, and the early snapshot already looks familiar in one key area. St. Louis has leaned on a wave of young offense to get through the opening stretch, with Mason McTavish, Dalibor Dvorsky and Connor McMichael giving the lineup much-needed spark, while Joel Hofer has been steady in net behind them.
Even with those positives, the second period has been the problem spot, the sort of issue that can undo a decent start before it really has time to breathe. The coaching staff now has a clear early priority before the home opener: tighten up the middle frames and keep the momentum from slipping away the way it did on the road. [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 🡒]