The Blues handed Jake Neighbours an assistant captain’s “A” before the season for a reason. He’s been one of the team’s most recognizable energy players since his 2021 debut, the kind of winger who plays on the edge, hunts pucks, bothers opponents and drags teammates into the fight with him.
But through four games, that impact has been hard to find.
St. Louis dropped its home opener to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday and remains stuck in another sluggish start, and Neighbours has been part of the problem. He hasn’t recorded a goal or an assist, and the Blues need far more from a player expected to help drive secondary scoring while the top of the lineup works through its own issues.
The scoring numbers are especially stark when you line them up with the rest of the roster. Captain Robert Thomas, fellow assistant captain Dylan Holloway and power-play quarterback Cam Fowler are also scoreless. Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish have at least chipped in offensively, but outside those two newcomers, the attack has been thin.
Neighbours’ shot totals tell a similar story. He has four shots on goal and nine shot attempts in four games, ranking eighth among Blues forwards and 13th overall on the team.
That leaves him behind players like fourth-line center Pius Suter and defenseman Colton Parayko, not exactly the company St. Louis envisioned for one of its tone-setters.
That’s the bigger concern with Neighbours right now: it’s not just that the points haven’t come. The usual little things that make him such a valued player have been muted, too.
He’s long been the sort of forward who creates noise in the best way possible - scrappy goals, board battles that turn into chances, hard shifts that wake up a bench. This season, that spark has mostly been missing.
The one moment that stood out came in the opener, when he mixed it up with Dallas Stars forward Arttu Hyty in St. Louis’ 4-0 win in Dallas. Since then, though, he’s been mostly quiet.
Part of that shows up in his usage. With McMichael, McTavish and Jonathan Berggren stepping into larger roles, Neighbours has slipped to just over 14 minutes a night on the third line.
He’s not on the penalty kill, which has been the Blues’ best unit so far, and he isn’t contributing on the power play either. For a player who was once a regular in the top six, that’s a clear step down.
Still, the Blues clearly think plenty of him. They wouldn’t have put an “A” on his sweater if they didn’t trust him. His style matches the way head coach Jim Montgomery wants this team to play, and the coaching staff believes in what he brings.
That’s why the next stretch matters. If St.
Louis is going to dig out of this early hole, Neighbours has to become more than a name on the leadership chart. He needs to be a force on the ice again.
In Other News...
Blues Already Have Two Offensive Problems Fans Can't Ignore
The Blues have barely had time to settle into the season, but the early offensive picture is already hard to miss. Their top line of Dylan Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud and Robert Thomas has been asked to drive play and set the tone, yet the group has not given the club much on the scoreboard through four games. St. Louis is still trying to find rhythm at even strength, and the lack of finishing touch has fed into a broader problem that has carried over to the power play.
There is at least some reason for patience beneath the rough start. The numbers at five-on-five have been more encouraging than the goals column, suggesting the chances are there even if the results have not shown up yet. Joel Hofer has given the Blues a steady presence in net, which buys a little time for the offense to sort itself out, but until the top line starts converting and the man-advantage looks sharper, this will remain one of the first places fans look for answers. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Enter Stretch That Will Show What This Team Really Is
The early part of the season has already told the Blues a little bit about themselves. They opened with a 4-0 win, then settled into the kind of mixed results that tend to follow a fast start, with losses to Colorado, Chicago and San Jose leaving more questions than answers about how steady this group really is. For a team trying to sort out its identity, the margin for error is getting thinner by the night.
Columbus is the first test in a stretch that feels like a separator, the kind of run that can turn an encouraging start into something more meaningful if St. Louis handles it well. The Blues also have to keep navigating a growing injury situation, with several regulars unavailable, and that only adds to the challenge of a schedule that is about to get much less forgiving. If this team is going to look like a playoff contender, it will have to start showing it right here. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Hit With Another Injury Setback As Depth Gets Tested
The Blues are dealing with another hit to their depth after forward Dillon Dube was sidelined with a neck injury, leaving the club to shuffle its lineup again as it tries to navigate a stretch already shaped by multiple absences. St. Louis has been leaning on its lower end of the roster more heavily, and the next wave of adjustments now includes giving Zach Dean a look on the fourth line while Justin Barron remains in the mix on defense for a second straight game.
It comes as the Blues are also working through a new defensive zone coverage system under assistant coach Greg Cronin, which makes the timing of the injuries even more demanding. With the lineup in flux and responsibilities spreading to younger or less established players, the next few weeks will give St. Louis a clearer read on who can absorb tougher minutes while the staff keeps sorting out the back end. [Read more 🡒]