The Blues came into this game hoping to end the week on a high note following a couple really disappointing finishes. This was particularly important because this was their last game for over two weeks as the NHL takes a break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. You can say a lot of things about the Blues performance in this one, but boring is not one of them.

The Blackhawks got on the board first thanks to Craig Smith's goal just 5:04 into the game. The Blues didn't get a chance to respond, as Ryan Donato doubled their lead just 38 seconds later with his own goal to put the score at 2-0, which was where it stood to end the first period.

The second period was much better for the Blues, outshooting the Blackhawks 17-3 but hitting three posts. Still, thanks to goals by Philip Broberg, Nathan Walker, and Mathieu Joseph, the Blues would finish the second period with a 3-2 lead.

The third period ended up being the most eventful of all, as Martinez started off the scoring less than 4 minutes in with a snap shot that tied the game at 3-3. Cam Fowler notched his 6th goal of the season just 42 seconds later to reclaim a 4-3 lead for the Blues. Once again the Blackhawks matched just 96 seconds after this to tie the game at 4-4. Neither goalie was having a good performance, but the scoring did slow for about 5 minutes until Mikheyev gave Chicago another lead with less than 9 minutes remaining in the game. As time began to run short, the Blues started to play with more urgency and Robert Thomas was able to get the tying goal once again for the Blues with 4:37 remaining in the game. There were multiple high danger chances in the final minutes but both goalies were able to stop them and the game ended after 60 minutes at 5-5.

Overtime was eventful as well, although scoring was not on the cards as both Jordan Binnington and Arvid Soderblom stood tall to force a shootout decision. As expected, this shootout was incredibly entertaining, going to 10 rounds. Finally, Radek Faksa was able to be the hero for St. Louis as his backhand goal put the game to bed and concluded one of the most entertaining and worst defensive performances I have ever had the pleasure to watch.

This win allowed the Blues to enter the break 8 point out of the final Wild Card spot in the West. Admittedly this is a huge mountain to climb, but it sure looks more doable than 10 points. Hopefully the Blues can get a mental reset over the next two weeks and make one last desperate push for the playoffs upon their return.

Heartbreak. That was the word coming out of everyone's mouth following the Blues' Thursday night game against the Panthers. Following the incredibly disappointing OT loss to the Stanley Cup Runners-Up just two days earlier, the Blues had a chance to showcase their resilience in this matchup against the Stanley Cup Winners from last season. For the most part, they did.

The game started with great tempo and St. Louis was able to strike first thanks to Zach Bolduc fighting through a penalty and scoring a one handed goal in the slot 3:31 into the game. Unfortunately for the Blues, the joy from this goal was short lived, as Samoskevich responded just 3:38 later to bring the Panthers level. A bad penalty then led to a PPG by Matthew Tkachuk with 3:04 remaining in the first and the Blues would enter the first intermission down 2-1 despite the hot start.

The second was relatively uneventful on the offensive end as both teams were playing stout, tight defense in the neutral zone. A Panthers penalty allowed the Blues to get some sustained offensive pressure, and they were rewarded with a PPG from Oskar Sundqvist, his 4th on the season and his first in months. This came at 5:18, and both teams responded by locking down the defensive end for the remainder of the period, keeping the teams locked at 2-2 going into the second intermission.

The third was full of good chances on both sides, but Joel Hofer and Spencer Knight stood tall with some great saves to keep the score level. The Blues looked to be good to secure at least a point as the final seconds were ticking off of the clock when the thing that every fan was scared of happened. Matthew Tkachuk was able to get a wrist shot in the slot by Hofer with 12 seconds remaining in the game to win in regulation and rip the heart out of every Blues fan in attendance.

This was the second gut wrenching loss for St. Louis in as many games and a lot of fans found themselves speechless following this one. The only saving grace from this loss is that the 4 Nations Faceoff break is coming soon so hopefully the team can take a mental break and put that behind them, but I don't know how you would do that and be able to bounce back even with the extended break. At the end of the day, we'll just have to see what happens and hope that Monty can do some magic for the team in the next couple weeks, we need it.

This game was always going to be difficult, the Oilers are an incredibly talented team. However, the Blues came out and played a great and very entertaining game.

The first period was one that was full of high quality chances on both sides, however Binnington and Skinner both stood tall and kept the score 0-0 after the first 20 minutes. Oilers outshot the Blues 13-3 after the period, but the game was much more competitive than that would suggest.

The second period was defined by special teams. The Blues gave the Oilers 2 chances in the PP, and McDavid was able to capitalize on it 5:50 into the frame to break the deadlock and put the Oilers up 1-0. The Blues were able to kill the second Oilers PP in the closing minutes of the period, and this gave them some momentum going into a crucial final 20.

The Blues came out hot in the third period with a lot of great chances, however it was Jordan Kyrou with a PP cleanup goal that put the Blues back to even with 15 minutes remaining. Just two minutes later, Colton Parayko notched his 12th of the year to put the Blues up 2-1. St. Louis continued to put pressure on the Oilers, and Robert Thomas was rewarded with a beautiful open net just feet from the goal on the dish from Pavel Buchnevich but sent the puck just wide leaving the door open for the Oilers to work. I and many others immediately started to hope that Thomas's missed chance wouldn't come back to hurt us. However, we were not so fortunate as Draisaitl did what he does best and extended his league leading goal mark on a one timer with the goalie pulled to tie the game at 2 in the final minutes.

OT was relatively one sided, which is to be expected against a team that can field Draisaitl, McDavid, and Nugent-Hopkins for the 3 on 3. Broberg was given the only good chance for the Blues, but Skinner gloved his shot in the crease and less than a minute later Connor Brown ended the game on a set up by McDavid to complete the comback and send the Blues home with 1 point.

Overall the performance was excellent from the Blues, they had a great pace and didn't allow a single 5 on 5 goal from the most lethal offense in the league. Before the game, if I had been told we would leave with a point I would've been quite satisfied. However, the Blues' inability to defend 6 on 5 cannot be ignored. This is the third time in 3 games that the Blues have allowed a goal with the goalie pulled, something that has and will continue to haunt them in the playoff race. Something needs to change for the team in these situations, and I hope they can figure something out soon because it has reached a point where being up 1 late is more nerve-wracking than being tied.

6 points out of the wild card and two games left before the 4 Nations Face-off break, one against the Panthers and one against the Blackhawks. The Blues need to end this week on a good note and try to close the gap more if they want a real shot at the postseason in the final weeks.

Expectations were low coming into this matchup with Utah, a team that has given the Blues fits for years going back to their time as the Arizona Coyotes. The team was on a four game losing streak, had been shut out in 2 of their last 3, and were playing the worst hockey of the year in a crucial stretch. Thankfully, the Blues finally came to play from the start and put up a good effort for 60 minutes.

The game was back and forth for the first 15 minutes or so, but the 0-0 deadlock was broken by Alexandre Texier with 2:19 remaining in the first. This goal was huge, because it was the first time St. Louis had held a lead in a game in almost two weeks; yeah things have been really rough as of late. The Blues were able to hold onto the lead and go into the first intermission with a 1-0 edge, much to the surprise of fans and analysts.

The second period was defined by an inability to capitalize from both teams. The Blues were given multiple opportunities on the power play but were unable to extend their lead. However, they also were shorthanded multiple times and managed to break a 6 game streak of allowing at least 1 PPG. The Blues were stout defensively, standing tall on the blue line and denying clean entries by Utah - something that the team has really struggled with this year. They escaped from the second 20 unscathed and still clinging to a 1-0 lead.

The third period was much more eventful. 3 minutes and 17 seconds in Utah tied the game on Michael Kesselring's slap shot from the right point. The pace really started to pick up after this, as both teams were desperate for points in a wild card race that is starting to look out of reach. Just 5 minutes later, Robert Thomas set up Jordan Kyrou for what would be the game winning goal on a beautiful pass  from behind the net while under pressure. Utah did make a push in the dwindling minutes of the game, but the Blues and particularly Jordan Binnington stood tall. Binner saved 25 of 26 shots faced to get the win, breaking the 4 game skid and conquering their demons in Utah.

This was the game the Blues desperately needed, but is it enough to climb back into relevance in the playoff race? Only time will tell, but until then they just need to focus on the team in front of them and try to string together a win streak, something that has eluded them for over a calendar year.

Blues fans knew this game was going to be tough, but given the stakes and importance of the matchup, they thought the team would come out ready to win. Unfortunately for them, the product that the Blues showed on the ice was the exact opposite.

The odds were against the Blues in this matchup at the best of times given the talent on each roster and the game being in Denver, but add into the mix an uninspired team, the lack of Saad and Parayko, and the flu going through the team and you get a result like the one here.

Once again the Blues gave up an early goal, this time at the hands of Jonathan Druin just 4:57 into the opening puck drop. From here, the floodgates opened with Martin Necas getting his first goal as a member of the Avalanche, Druin scoring his second of the game, and Cale Makar notching a goal on the Power Play in the swindling minutes of the period. At the end of the first, the Blues trailed 0-4 and were outshot 6-21 after 20 minutes. This was probably the worst single period of hockey I have ever seen the Blues play, a sentiment shared by many Blues fans across social media.

The final 40 were relatively uneventful apart from a third period Kiviranta goal to cap the 5-0 loss for the Blues. The Avalanche clearly let their foot off the gas and were content to protect their lead in the final two periods, something that was relatively easy given the poor performance and effort from everyone on St. Louis.

After the game, we heard more of the same from the team. "Didn't start on time; multiple games in a row now and it costs us," Captain Brayden Schenn told media after the embarrassing performance. Clearly this is the case and has been for weeks now, the question is how do the Blues escape this funk? And at this point in the season with the playoff race the way it is, does it even matter or should the organization start focusing on next year? There's a lot of questions that haven't been answered and I'm not sure if we'll get an answer any time soon.

Just 2 minutes and 52 seconds into this crucial matchup between two playoff hopefuls, Conor Garland was able to tip the puck past Binnington and claim the lead for the Canucks on their first shot of the game. This is a situation the Blues have found themselves in far too many times this season, and especially in the last couple weeks. 

St. Louis did try to push to tie the game as the end of the first period neared and they appeared to do so right at the 15:00 mark on a shot by Tyler Tucker that was able to find the back of the net, but the moment was short lived as the referee called off the goal on the ice due to goalie interference by Dylan Holloway. Jim Montgomery did challenge the call, arguing that Holloway was kept in the blue paint by Quinn Hughes, which is reasonable given the replays shown in the stadium. However, goaltender interference continues to be the least predictable rule for the league and after review the call was upheld.

This ended up being even more consequential than initially thought, as Conor Garland scored yet again on the power play caused by the failed challenge. The Blues went into the locker room after 20 minutes down 2-0 in another poor start in front of the home crowd.

Following another power play goal by the visiting team, Dylan Holloway was able to get the Blues on the board with a PPG of his own, bringing the score to 3-1. When Robert Thomas took a high stick that resulted in a double minor power play for the Blues, it really felt that a huge much needed comeback might be on the cards. But Pius Suter ended those thoughts with a devastating shorthanded goal at 13:36. The Blues weren't able to score on what remained of the power play and the period came to a close at 4-1.

The third period was rather uneventful; a Parayko goal with just over 15 minutes left cut the lead to 2 but the only other score was by the Canucks on an empty net in the closing minutes.

At this point there isn't much to say that hasn't been said a hundred times by a hundred analysts. Clearly things aren't working right now, and I'm interested to see what Doug/Monty choose to do in the coming weeks as the trade deadline approaches and the Blues slip further and further out of playoff contention.

As the final buzzer sounded at the end of the third period on Saturday, Blues fans in Enterprise Center were left with yet another underwhelming on ice performance in a game with heavy playoff implications. This time was a bit worse than others this season, as St. Louis was shut out for the first time this year.

Unfortunately, the team looked flat at the start of the first period once again and were on the back foot for the majority of the first 20 minutes. The Stars capitalized on a power play early and along with another defensive breakdown that allowed a breakaway, the Blues found themselves in a 2-0 hole once again within just 10 minutes.

The second and third periods were much better from the Blues, but the puck luck wasn't with them and despite multiple posts/crossbars being hit, not a single puck could find the back of the net. Binnington stopped 17 of 19 shots from the Stars, while DeSmith managed a shutout despite facing 33 shots on goal.

This game was a great example of why the Blues can't come out low energy in games. Even if they find their form in the last two periods, without some luck going their way they can never get back in the game. Especially against playoff teams, multi goal comebacks are incredibly difficult and yet St. Louis continually puts itself in a postition early where they are necessary.

"At the end of the day, no excuse not being ready to play, especially against good hockey teams," Captain Brayden Schenn told reporters after the game. "That's the lesson we have to learn, you have to have yourself ready to play." 

Schenn was visibly frustrated by his team's recent first period performances, something that has plagued the squad for multiple years. The Blues have a huge game coming up against the Canucks on the 27th, and unfortunately only time will tell if this team can finally wake up and play a full 60 from puck drop or if they will once again find themselves digging their own playoff grave.

Just 17 seconds into the matchup on Thursday night, Cam Fowler had an uncharacteristic giveaway in the D zone that led to Mark Stone putting his team ahead on the first shot of the game. Unfortunately for St. Louis, this was a preview of what was to come in the remaining 19:43. The Blues came out remarkably flat at home against the Golden Knights on the back end of a home and home. The Knights had only won 1 game in their last 7, so they had a level of desperation that the Blues couldn't match, despite the latter being in the middle of a heated wild card race with the Canucks and Flames.

After falling into a 2-0 hole on a power play goal by Olofsson, the Blues managed to make it 2-1 going into the first intermission on yet another goal by the dynamic Schenn-Holloway-Kyrou line. Jordan Kyrou scored on a great shot in transition, putting him at 21 goals for the season and notching his 42nd point; he leads the team in both categories. Going into the first intermission, the Blues were being outshot 15-4, however the second period did not see this gap tighten.

Dorofeyev made it 3-1 on another power play goal for the Knights at 6:30 in the second period, and the Blues were fortunate to end the period at that score thanks to some heroics by Hofer on numerous high quality chances for Vegas. Despite the bad start, Hofer played a good game in net but was left out to dry multiple times by a defense that was never able to find its footing. Hof finished the game with 27 saves on 30 shots for a flat 0.90 save percentage. On the offensive end, the Blues went over 20 minutes without a shot on goal at one point in the 2nd, and finished the second period getting outshot 24-8.

The third period was relatively uneventful until the final 5 minutes when Robert Thomas scored on the rebound from Buchnevich; this made the game 3-2 with just under 4 minutes remaining but the Blues couldn't get the second goal and the Knights ended the game with an empty netter by Tomas Hertl with 30 seconds remaining.

This was an inexplicably poor performance by the Blues, especially on a  night that the Flames secure a win and extend their lead in the playoff race. Almost everyone on the ice looked gassed from puck drop, including usually reliable skaters like Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko. Thomas in particular had a really poor night, with a countless number of D zone turnovers, bad passes, and missed nets. He and the defense will need to get back on track soon as the Blues play the Stars on Saturday in yet another hugely consequential night for the Western Conference Wild Card race. I would like to see Zach Bolduc in the lineup for that game, as our 2nd and 3rd lines are just not generating the offense that they should and Bolduc definitely provides that skillset.

With just over 3 minutes remaining in the game, Adin Hill of Vegas skated off the ice in a desperate attempt to claw back into the game from the Golden Knights. Down 4-2, they were rewarded for their aggression just seconds later with a Jack Eichel one-timer that squeezed past Binnington on the short side at 16:50. When it did I, and many other Blues fans familiar with our track record in these moments, started to fear the worst. Unfortunately with just 30 seconds between the Blues and a regulation win against one of the best teams in the league, Pavel Dorofeyev's one-timer found the back of the net and our fears had been realized.

The overtime was a busy one with both teams pushing hard for offensive chances and focusing more on making game winning plays and less on maintaining possession of the puck. Both sides had gotten a few good looks but nothing had gotten past the goaltenders when Jack Eichel found himself on the receiving end of a tip in pass just a foot from the net completely behind Jordan Binnington. As Vegas fans and players began to celebrate and Binnington himself started to look to the sky in frustration, Eichel's tip slid just an inch wide of the left post and the game continued. 

Ultimately, this missed chance would be costly for Vegas as Brayden Schenn and Jake Neighbours' goals in the shootout were just enough to prevent a collapse that would have been morale destroying for a team that is playing good hockey right now.

The two points secured in this game are obviously massive for the Blues, putting them once again just 1 point out of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. However, the Blues have really struggled late in games with a 1 or 2 goal lead. We very rarely get empty net goals, but we allow 6v5 goals relatively frequently. Something needs to change with the game plan in these situations - I actually loved how St. Louis played in the first 5 to 10 minutes of that third period up 4-2. They were taking what was given, avoiding risky passes, and were willing to move up and down the ice. Play like that more when in these situations, and the Blues can avoid the kind of collapse we saw in this game.

Just 2 minutes and 5 seconds into the game, Tyler Tucker put the Blues ahead on a beautiful slap shot set up off of a faceoff pass by Oskar Sundqvist, however that was one of very few good moments in a 4-2 loss on Saturday night.

The Blues did what they've done far too often this year and came out flat against a team desperate for a win after losing three straight. Just 10 minutes after Tucker put the Blues up 1-0, the Blues trailed 1-3 on three goals that were part of a 17 shot period for the Utah Hockey Club.

The second period was much more competitive, as the Blues were able to cut the lead to just 1 off of Jake Neighbours' PPG just 1:32 in. St. Louis had a few chances to tie the game, but ultimately allowed a wrist shot by Logan Cooley to put the game at 2-4 with 9:18 remaining in the period.

The third period was dominated by the Blues as they finally came out with some consistent energy, but despite their tenacious play and some extremely high quality opportunities Connor Ingram was able to prevent any tightening on the scoreboard. Ingram was great, stopping 22 of 24 shots for the game. On the other end, Binnington had a lackluster performance posting an 87.9% SV% while saving 29 of 33 shots against. 

What should we take away from this game? This was the Blues 8th chance to secure a three game win streak this season, and after this loss they have an inexplicable 0-7-1 record in such games. This is obviously troubling for a team trying to claw their way into the playoffs, but given how well they played in the other games this week i am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt against a home team that has matched up well against us in recent years and was desperate for a win. It would be easy to lose hope for the season based on this performance, but I'm going to wait to hit the panic button until I see how they play against a slumping Golden Knights team next week.

As the final seconds ticked down in the third period, the energized crowd sent echoes of “Lets Go Blues” chants throughout Enterprise Center. The team had successfully taken down the Calgary Flames for the second time this week, this time 4-1 in what was likely the Blues best on ice performance of the season.

In a game some considered a must win and all considered incredibly consequential in the playoff race, the Blues came out aggressive early and were rewarded only 4:55 in with Captain Brayden Schenn’s wrist shot on a beautiful pass behind the net by Dylan Holloway. Following another half period of tenacious play, the Blues made it 2-0 on Colton Parayko’s 99 mph slap shot with 6:07 left in the first. This was the 6’ 6” defenseman’s 10th goal of the season, tying his single year high along with establishing a 3 game goal streak for the skater who is often lauded for his defensive prowess but is rarely recognized for his offensive ability.

Just 1 minute and 47 seconds later former Oiler Dylan Holloway secured his second primary assist of the game on yet another setup this time for Jordan Kyrou from the right slot. The Blues concluded the first 20 minutes up 3-0 with 14 shots on goal, and the crowd let the team know how much they appreciated the performance with thunderous cheering.

The second period involved a good push by the Flames, resulting in a goal at 11:14 by Sharangovich. However, their inability to avoid the PK ended up undoing this progress when Brayen Schenn scored his second goal of the game on a deflected pass from Jake Neighbours right in front of the net with 2:21 remaining in the second period. This was where the game ended after a very stout defensive 20 minutes by the Blues to close out the game. Notably, with over 2 minutes left and leading by three goals, Australian legend Nathan Walker engaged with and ultimately bested Brayden Pachal in an exhilarating fight after the two had been involved in some extracurricular activity all night. He urged the already raucous crowd to get even louder and he was greeted by smiling teammates and a standing ovation as he skated off the ice.

This game felt like a season defining moment that may be looked back at in April depending on how this year’s wild card race ends. It’s been thrown around in recent weeks by analysts like Biz and Gretsky that the Blues could be a dark horse team to make a playoff run should they make it, and given what we saw this week I’m starting to buy into that idea. Everything seems to be coming together right now for the Blues. The defense, the scoring, the chemistry, the crowd. Something is cooking in St. Louis right now and I for one can’t wait to see what happens next.

When Colton Parayko’s rebound attempt reached the back of the net less than one minute in, it’s likely many watching thought they’d be in for another high scoring affair between these two potent offenses; but they were wrong. Parayko’s goal with 19:11 left in the first period stood alone as the only goal for either team for over 45 minutes, finally being followed up by a Kevin Bahl wrist shot 6:04 into the third period. The Blues managed to respond with Radek Faksa’s redirect on Tyler Tucker’s shot from the right point with just 8:49 remaining, a goal that would ultimately prove to be the difference in a game that both sides were desperately needing.

Despite a low score, the game had a great tempo and energy to it, as both the Blues and the Flames brought their best in a game that felt more like the playoffs than a mid-January regular season matchup. Both sides played stingy defense with some great sticks particularly from players like Justin Faulk and Cam Fowler. The high quality chances that did get created were shut down by a pair of great performances in net from Jordan Binnington and Dan Vladar.

The Blues entire defensive front had an excellent game, with no weak spots and high quality, quick decision making for a full 60 minutes. Colton Parayko echoed these sentiments in his post game interview: “I think we played a pretty good 60 minutes, obviously a close game. We knew it was going to be a tight one with standings and where everyone is. Kind of a mini-playoff series, if you will.”

This win puts the Blues just 3 points out of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, with the two teams running this one back once again on Thursday in St. Louis. A regulation win there would put the Blues on the brink of holding a playoff spot in January for the first time since 2022, but there’s still much work to be done as Jim Montgomery continues to shape this team up for the late season push.