The St. Louis Blues went from looking like they’d arrived to staring down a whole new set of problems.
A 6-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights a couple of games ago had the Blues feeling like a team ready to take a real bite out of the NHL. But that optimism has been wiped away by back-to-back shutouts - a 4-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes followed by a 2-0 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens.
Now the conversation around the club has shifted fast, and it starts with the biggest question of all: Are the Blues real contenders this season?
Based on what the scoreboard has shown lately, the answer doesn’t look especially encouraging. There have been some bright spots along the way, but the team has not been consistent enough as a whole to look like a true threat.
The scoring slump is part of the problem, and it’s hard to ignore the numbers. The Blues are averaging 2.92 goals per game, which ranks 20th in the league.
That’s respectable in spots, but not the kind of output that’s going to make much noise in the Central Division. Over the last two games, though, the offense has gone completely silent at 0 goals per game, and that’s what makes the overall production feel a little deceiving.
The other side of the puck hasn’t offered much comfort either. St. Louis sits 15th in the league with a 3.08 goals-against average, a gap that leaves the club giving away too much at one end while not producing enough at the other.
So what’s the fix?
In the simplest terms, the Blues need to score more goals. That sounds obvious, but the reality is that they need more from their top players, especially Robert Thomas.
The Blues captain has only one goal in 12 games, which puts him on pace for seven on the season. His six points over that stretch would project to about 42 total points, and that isn’t enough for what St. Louis needs right now.
Mason McTavish and Dylan Holloway have shouldered the offensive load, but the biggest area for improvement is the bottom six.
Dalibor Dvorsky has three points in 12 games. Otto Stenberg, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Zach Dean, and Dylan Peterson have not recorded a point. At the moment, Pius Suter is the only bottom-six forward really contributing, even with his name floating around the rumor mill for a while now.
Jim Montgomery’s line changes did help create something on Tuesday night. Alexey Toropchenko was a welcome addition, and moving Jonatan Berggren up to the second line made sense, even with Kaskimaki playing about eight minutes.
The Blues also generated offense against Montreal, firing 46 shots at Jacob Fowler. They just ran into a shutdown performance that left them on the wrong end of a historically good blanking.
That’s the encouraging piece for St. Louis.
The Blues did some things well against Montreal, and they appear to be close to getting back on track. Now it comes down to building on those positives and turning them into actual results.
In Other News...
Blues Make A Telling Lineup Reset As Home Stand Pressure Builds
The Blues are getting a familiar forward back at a time when their home stand is already asking for a sharper response. Alexey Toropchenko is back in the lineup after being sidelined by a shoulder injury suffered in the season opener, giving St. Louis another option up front as it tries to settle in against the Canadiens and keep its early-season rotation from getting any thinner.
The changes do not stop there, either. St. Louis is also tweaking its defensive look, with Brandon Carlo and Philip Broberg set to be paired together for the first time, while Jordan Binnington gets the start in goal. With several players still out injured, the Blues are leaning into a reset that may say plenty about how they view this stretch, even if the bigger answer will have to wait until the puck drops. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Suddenly Have A Cam Fowler Problem They Can't Ignore
Cam Fowler was supposed to settle things down on the back end for the Blues after signing a three-year extension, but the early returns have made his role a real question for a team trying to stay organized defensively. The veteran defenseman has not looked like the same player who was expected to help stabilize the blue line, and his on-ice impact has slipped enough that the conversation in St. Louis has shifted from fitting him in to figuring out how much they can afford to keep leaning on him.
The timing makes it even trickier because the Blues are already looking at ways to reinforce the defense, whether through a trade or by getting injured players back into the mix. Logan Maillouxs expected return from an upper-body injury only adds another layer to the decision-making, since the blue line may soon need a reshuffle. For a team that wants more certainty on defense, Fowlers place in the lineup has become one of the bigger issues to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Playoff Push May Depend On One Goalie Question
Joel Hofers fast start has given the Blues a clear early answer in net, at least for now. After his strong opening performance, he has moved into the starters chair and given St. Louis a chance to settle its most important position before the season gets away from it. For a team trying to stay in the playoff mix, that kind of stability matters, especially with a veteran like Jordan Binnington available to steady things behind him.
Binningtons presence still gives the Blues a safety net few teams can match. The Stanley Cup winner is expected to serve as dependable support and help manage the workload over the long haul, which could be a major factor as the season grinds on. The real question for St. Louis is how long this arrangement holds and how well the Blues can keep both goalies in the right rhythm when the games start carrying more weight. [Read more 🡒]