Heroes & Zeros

Bolduc is finally getting some consistent ice time and he is making the most of the opportunity. He's been producing a lot of quality chances recently and was rewarded early in this one with the first goal of the game. He also notched the primary assist on the Blues' second goal, continuing to show his offensive value. I hope we keep giving him more ice time on top lines, because he is exactly what our struggling offense needs right now.

Hofer has been a bit up and down this season after a stellar rookie performance last year. This game was definitely one of the highs, however. Hofer made huge save after huge save to keep the game within reach for the blues in the second, and then did it again in the third to keep the game tied and setting the Blues up for at least a point. He was let down in the final seconds, which is a real tragedy because it overshadowed what should have gone down as an all time great Joel Hofer performance. If he can keep this up, the Blues may be able to sneak back into playoff contention before the season comes to an end.

Sundqvist has definitely received a lot of criticism recently, and a large part of that has been due to his presence on the PP1 squad for the team. I have been one of the first to criticize Sunny when I feel he deserves it, but this game he deserves a lot of credit. Not only did he break his 17 game goalless streak with a PPG tip in, but he did a lot of great things that didn't make the stat sheet as well. He did a great job maintining possession of the puck under pressure and helped the team stay in the offensive zone frequently. Hopefully Sunny can keep this up, because he's a fan favorite and cheering for him is always fun.

The team performance as a whole in this game was great, but Cam Fowler did have a bit of a rough game. To reiterate, he's had a great couple months with the team but his play has undeniably dropped off a bit recently. I would love to see him be a bit more aggressive on the offensive end and get back some of the production that we saw in his first handful of games. Regardless, I am a big fan of Fowler and am really hoping he'll start playing better soon because watching him kind of revive his career here has been so fun to watch.

Buchnevich has reached a point of real concern for the Blues organization and fans. His 6 year, $8mil AAV extension kicks in next year and while I was excited about this signing in the off season, its starting to look like a real blunder by Armstrong. He is going through one of the toughest stretches I've seen from one of our stars and just cannot get anything to go his way. Buch at his best is a genuine star and playmaker but I would start to seriously consider moving someone else up to the top two lines like Bolduc or Texier

This is becoming a real problem for the Blues. Their ability to consistently allow late goals has been a season defining flaw. Doing this right after allowing a goalie-pulled game tying goal in the final minutes of the Oilers game just compounded the heartbreak. I don't know what the issue is, but they need to change their game plan in these situations. Leaving 3, 4, or 5 points on the table due to these late game collapses may seem insignificant but right now they could be the difference between being in a playoff spot and being out of the race entirely.