Heroes & Zeros

I feel like I should just make Parayko a permanent game "Hero", because he really is our best player on the ice day in and day out.

Binnington seems to be through with his annual December/January slump and is back to Vezina level form. He was constantly under assault from all over the ice, particularly in the first 40 minutes and was able to keep the Blues in the game long enough for our offense to wake up and capitalize on their chances. If Binnington doesn't have a next level performance, the Blues likely end the first two periods down 2 or 3 goals and the game is essentially over. He deserved the win, but to will the team to at least an OT point was huge, and I hope he can continue to play at this high level after the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Leddy's back! After missing 47 games with an undisclosed lower body injury, Leddy finally made his return in this game to the shagrin of a large chunk of the fanbase. However, he showed his worth quickly, breaking up multiple high danger opportunities in front of the net and even had an A1 chance to score early in the third period.

I don't think anyone ever thought Leddy was a true 1D, despite him being more than serviceable in that role the last couple seasons. However, on the third pairing with fellow veteran Suter, he seemed to fit in perfectly and is exactly what we needed following the injury of Tyler Tucker earlier this week.

After a month or so of consistent high play, Fowler seems to be in a bit of a slump. He had one of his worst performances against the Oilers, but it may fly under the radar because he was bailed out by Jordan Binnington multiple times. He turned the puck over consistently in the D zone, seemed to get flustered by the Oilers' pressure, and struggled to make tape to tape passes on offense. Admittedly it's hard for any defenseman against that team, but I hope to see more of the steady vet with flashes of offensive brilliance that we saw in Cam's first handful of weeks here. Only time will tell if this recent play has been a slump or a regression to the mean.

I hate to do this after Robert was a huge part of St. Louis's offensive game, but his missed shot with 10 minutes left in the third may have single handedly cost the Blues this game. Obviously this is a team sport and typically I hate blaming just one player for a miss opportunity but Thomas sent the puck wide left on a truly completely empty goal, leaving the Blues up 2-1. Draisaitl would score the tying goal in the final minutes and the Blues would fall in OT, something that likely would have been completely avoided if 18 had just found the back of the net in this moment. Nobody was more frustrated than Thomas, and hopefully this fuels him to be better in the future.

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.

I just can't say enough good things about Colton Parayko this year. He was a shutdown defender all game, preventing any 5 on 5 goals against the most talented offensive team in the league and extended his career high goal season to 12 on the score that put the Blues up 2-1 in the third period. It has reached the point that I have more faith in Colt55 in the offensive zone than almost anyone else on this team. If the Blues miss the playoffs, and we don't get the chance to see this version of Parayko in the postseason, it would be an absolute travesty.

Binnington seems to be through with his annual December/January slump and is back to Vezina level form. He was constantly under assault from all over the ice, particularly in the first 40 minutes and was able to keep the Blues in the game long enough for our offense to wake up and capitalize on their chances. If Binnington doesn't have a next level performance, the Blues likely end the first two periods down 2 or 3 goals and the game is essentially over. He deserved the win, but to will the team to at least an OT point was huge, and I hope he can continue to play at this high level after the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Leddy's back! After missing 47 games with an undisclosed lower body injury, Leddy finally made his return in this game to the shagrin of a large chunk of the fanbase. However, he showed his worth quickly, breaking up multiple high danger opportunities in front of the net and even had an A1 chance to score early in the third period.

I don't think anyone ever thought Leddy was a true 1D, despite him being more than serviceable in that role the last couple seasons. However, on the third pairing with fellow veteran Suter, he seemed to fit in perfectly and is exactly what we needed following the injury of Tyler Tucker earlier this week.

After a month or so of consistent high play, Fowler seems to be in a bit of a slump. He had one of his worst performances against the Oilers, but it may fly under the radar because he was bailed out by Jordan Binnington multiple times. He turned the puck over consistently in the D zone, seemed to get flustered by the Oilers' pressure, and struggled to make tape to tape passes on offense. Admittedly it's hard for any defenseman against that team, but I hope to see more of the steady vet with flashes of offensive brilliance that we saw in Cam's first handful of weeks here. Only time will tell if this recent play has been a slump or a regression to the mean.

I hate to do this after Robert was a huge part of St. Louis's offensive game, but his missed shot with 10 minutes left in the third may have single handedly cost the Blues this game. Obviously this is a team sport and typically I hate blaming just one player for a miss opportunity but Thomas sent the puck wide left on a truly completely empty goal, leaving the Blues up 2-1. Draisaitl would score the tying goal in the final minutes and the Blues would fall in OT, something that likely would have been completely avoided if 18 had just found the back of the net in this moment. Nobody was more frustrated than Thomas, and hopefully this fuels him to be better in the future.

Before the Blues' offer sheet of Holloway and Broberg shook the NHL scene this offseason, the Blues biggest pickup was Texier from the Blue Jackets. Obviously there was something Armstrong saw in him that he liked, and with Saad being gone he made clear that he would like to see more of what the young forward can do.

After being a healthy scratch for a good portion of games as of late, Texier has been given a real chance on the top lines and he has taken advantage of it. He has been playing consistently good shifts and he was rewarded in this game with the first goal of the game, and the lone goal for either team through the first 45 minutes.

While admittedly putting our two scorers as the first heroes of the game feels lazy, what Kyrou did in this game should not be ignored. He continued his recent high quality play reunited on a line with Buch and Thomas, and scored yet another incredibly important goal for the Blues with what would be the game winner halfway through the third.

Kyrou gets a lot of unnecessary criticism from fans, something I will never understand. He has continued to grow as a full, well rounded player and continues to put up huge numbers as the current leader for the team in goals and points.

Robert, welcome back; you have been sorely missed. The Blues' All Star had been through the worst two week stretch of his career before this game, and it isn't a coincidence that the Blues have dropped almost every game during that stretch.

Despite being a game time decision due to the flu, RobThom put up an incredible performance, consistently being the driving force in an offense that really needed a spark. He made everyone on the ice with him better, and capped the performance off with a seriously beautiful pass to Jordan Kyrou for the go ahead game winning goal late in the third. Hopefully this recent funk is behind him and we get this Thomas from here on out - we need him.

While Justin Faulk did have some good moments in this game, once again he was the weak link in both our defense and our Power Play unit. Faulk does have offensive upside, but he notably caused a turnover on a man advantage that almost lost the game with a short-handed goal against. Thankfully, Binnington was able to bail him out but Faulk really needs to be better on our special teams units if we want any hope of improving our abyssmal PP and PK numbers.

In an attempt to get Buch and Thomas going, Monty reunited the Kyrou-Buchnevich-Thomas line for this game. While this was successful in waking up Robert Thomas, Buchnevich continued to struggle. He was indecisive, handled the puck poorly, and lost most of his 50/50s. It is so unlike Buchy to be this hesitant with the puck, which does make me wonder if something else is going on that we aren't aware of. Regardless, I hope he can be revived by the line changes in the coming games, we could really use his scoring abilities in the final couple months of the season.

Colton Parayko didn't step foot on the ice in this matchup, and I think most fans expected the defense to be negatively impacted by this, especially against a team with the offensive capability of Colorado. However, what we saw should prove to everyone watching that Parayko is the backbown of this defense and team. Without Colt, the Blues allowed 21 shots and 4 goals in the first period alone. Parayko is single handedly keeping this team afloat right now and this game was unequivocal proof of that.

There's not much that I can say here that I haven't said multiple times before about Justin Faulk. His play has just completely fallen off a cliff - he consistently looks lost on the ice on defense and especially on the PK. He single handedly cause multiple goals tonight, and when you look at how much we are paying him it should make you sick. I'm just going to keep praying that he will start playing at least medicore hockey at some point before the end of this year.

Buchnevich continues to severely underachieve; not only is he not scoring, but he is missing most of his passes, turning the puck over, and constantly giving the opposition good looks at our net. Buch has it in him to be a top player- we've seen that the last few seasons. However, with his 6 year $8 million AAV extention going into effect next year, his struggles are definitely concerning looking beyond this year.

I hate putting Nathan walker in the Zeros category because he is the one guy we can trust to bring 110% on the rink every night. However, he was promoted to 3C last night and it was really tough to watch. With his smaller size, he was unable to get anything going on offense and any time he did manage to get into the zone, he would get smothered and lose the puck almost immediately. This wasn't Walker's fault entirely given how much they put on him, but I would be remiss if I ignored his performance. Hopefully Monty learns from this and keeps this line experiment from happening again.

There weren't many good things to recognize in this game, but I'd be neglectful if I didn't mention what Parayko did. With his goal in the third period, he set a career high for goals in a single season at 11. He's been excellent this year on both ends of the ice and seeing him excel in an area that has never been a strength has been great to see. Hopefully he continues with his shoot first mindset and keeps producing at a high level to finish out this season and into the next.

Binnington continues to be an incredibly inconsistent goalkeeper, and this was one of the ones he'd like to forget. Binner allowed 3 goals in the first 30 minutes of the game, and was pulled from the game for just the second time this season. Given the stakes, I can't blame Monty for the choice.

Saad has been a pillar of consistency for the Blues since signing him for the 2021-2022 season. However this year has not been the same, as he's only been able to score in 3 games so far this year. Admittedly, all three of those were multi goal performances, but that speaks to his unforgivable inconsistency this season despite being given ample opportunity on top lines. I still think Saad is a good player who puts in the effort, but at a certain point you have to start scoring consistently and he hasn't been able to do that.

Jake Neighbours has been a fan favorite on the team for a couple of years and after last season, he seemed poised for another great breakout year. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened and he frequently tends to disappear in games when his play making ability is desperately needed. If Jake Neighbours wants to be the Blues next star, he needs to find ways to score.

Binnington has been inconsistent for a few months; and while that was something you could see in this game, he was absolutely one of the positives coming out of the night. After letting in one he likely would want back and a PPG he had no chance at, Binner locked down the net and didnt allow another Stars goal for the remainder of the game despite Dallas being allowed more than a few good chances. He gave our team more than 50 minutes to get back into this one, but they just couldn't get it done despite his performance.

While still not being able to find the back of the net, Buchnevich played a much better game against the Stars on the offensive end. He had multiple good chances as a reward for going to the front of the net, set up teammates multiple times for open shots, and put pressure in the offensive zone all night long to help give the team a chance to claw back into it. While no one is thrilled with the team performance in this one, if Buchy can continue his play from this matchup the goals will start flowing again.

Mathieu Joseph has been floating between healthy scratch and 4th liner for a few months, and hopefully some other guys will get a shot at playing over Joseph after his recent performances. He's been incredibly easy to miss on the ice, and this game was not an exception - apart from one big moment. With just over 6 minutes left, Joseph had a tip in opportunity on a wide open net behind DeSmith on a beautiful set up from Robert Thomas. He sent the puck wide, keeping the game out of reach and dooming the Blues for their first shutout of the season.

I recognize that I'm beating a dead horse once again, but in yet another game Oskar Sundqvist stood out as a weak point in the Blues roster. His shortcomings on the ice are well documented and discussed, but what I feel magnifies these issues is related to coaching. Monty has been a huge improvement for St. Louis, but his continued choice to put Sunny on the PP1 is something I am struggling to understand. He has yet to produce in this spot, and sometimes causes our setup due to collapse due to bad puck handling.

Justin Faulk once again finds himself on the Zeros list. He actually had some good defensive playing during the middle 30 of the game to keep the hole the Blues dug themselves as shallow as possible. However, for a defenseman that is renowned for his offensive upside, Faulk really hurt the team's chances in the third period as he allowed multiple pucks to slide past him and out of the offensive zone right as they were getting a good cycle going. Every time this happened, the Blues would be forced to try to reenter the zone as valuable game time ticked all the way down to 0.

In a game characterized by poor effort across the ice, Toropchenko stood out as a player putting in the effort needed. He was consistently pushing the puck forward, driving toward the net, and creating rare scoring chances for the Blues. He is someone you can always rely on to leave it all on the ice every night, and hopefully this attitude is contagious in the locker room and leads to a better effort from the entire team.

Kyrou scored the blues only goal in the first 56 minutes of the game, as he pushes his team leading goal count to 21. Watching him and Dylan Holloway play is always so fun, they're both fast and talented and their chemistry on the ice is really  incredible. Monty's greatest change since taking over has been the creation of this line, one that ranks near the top of the NHL in production.

The Blues' 2024 All-Star has had a really rough couple of weeks and unfortunately his play not only didn't improve, but instead seemingly hit a new low. Thomas had a countless number of turnovers in both the offensive and defensive zones. It's only a matter of time until he comes out of this funk, but we desperately need a return to form from Robert Thomas because so much of our play flows through him.

Cam Fowler had his worst game in the Blue Note, with the worst moment coming just 15 seconds into the game. Fowler turned the puck over right off the opening faceoff, which  allowed Mark Stone a free breakaway that put the Blues behind before they could get settled in the slightest. This set the tone of the game early, and Vegas capitalized on it; they never gave up their lead in the remaining 59:43 of the game.

This game was definied by poor defense from everyone on the team, but the worst performance was the one we saw from Justin Faulk. He consistently lost track of skaters in front of the net, was unable to clear the puck, and was moving so slow he was perpetually behind every play. Faulk at his best is one of the best defenders in the league, but he hasn't been himself recently and this performance gives fans little hope that his play will be improving any time soon.

Cam Fowler continues to impress in the Blue Note as he had another great game for us against Vegas. His reliability and good decision making in the D zone has helped us round out our defense in a way we haven't seen in years. He locked down the middle of the ice much of the night and his passing ability helped create chances out of the defensive end. His PP goal to put us up 4-2 was yet another beauty as his scoring ability continues to surprise.

Brayden Schenn has had more than his fair share of critics through the first 40 games of the season but the resurgence we have seen with the new line combination of Kyrou-Schenn-Holloway has been legitimately beautiful to watch. He has notched 7 points in his last 5 games, including 3 goals in his last 3. His shot has become deadly once again, and his goal against the Knights was an absolute snipe from the right circle.

Jack Eichel, one of the Golden Knights best skater and arguably their best offensive weapon, was gifted a perfect tip in set up on a completely wide open net in OT and somehow sent the puck just inches wide to the left. Neither the crowd, some of whom had already started celebrating, nor Jack could believe it as he can be seen throwing his arms up in frustration as the shot slid just wide.

Jim Montgomery clearly has not liked what he's seen recently from Buch, and as a result he was demoted to third line for this game. Many expected this change to light a fire under him, however he once again faded into the background for much of this matchup - suffering from the same issues that have plagued his play for months. At this point it's not clear what it will take to wake up Buchy.

Kyrou is our best goal scorer, and leads the team in goals and points this season. He holds high expectations and games like this one are frustrating to watch as a fan. Kyrou, while not playing bad, finished the game with 0 shots on goal. That is not what you want to see out of someone as talented offensively as Jordan. He needs to shoot more for the Blues to keep up their scoring pace.

Tucker has been playing some great hockey since being moved into a permanent spot in the lineup and that showed once again in this game. He played a solid game on the defensive end and even provided an offensive spark, scoring the game's first goal on a slapshot just over 2 minutes in.

Dylan Holloway has been incredible all season, and despite an overall poor performance from the team in this game, he certainly stood out as a positive. He was constantly aggressive on offense, keeping pucks alive and creating some great opportunities for both himself and his teammates.

Cam has been a pillar of good decision making and reliability since acquiring him in a trade with the Ducks a few weeks ago. He made some good plays in the D zone multiple times, helping to limit Utah's chances in the second and third periods.

Kyrou has been one of our most consistent offensive threats all season, leading the team in goals and points by comfortable margins. However, this was not his best showing as poor decision making led to turnovers all night long that resulted in multiple goals for the Utah Hockey Club. Kyrou will need to clean up his game in the coming weeks, as we need him to play at a high level as we make a push for the playoffs.

This hasn't been the best season for Buch so far, and this game was a great example of why. At his best, Buchnevich is a star playmaker who can score himself or set up a teammate with his great on ice awareness. However, he has had a tendency to disappear at times this year and I honestly cannot remember a single time I noticed a play he made on the ice in this matchup. Buch needs to find a way to play the way we know he can and be that playmaker we need right now.

It's not often you'll see Robert Thomas listed among the worst players in a game, but this was definitely a match he will want to forget. He really struggled to retain possession of the puck in critical moments entering the offensive zone, and his passing was consistently off the mark all evening long. A very uncharacteristic game from the All-Star, and one I hope we don't see again any time soon.

Schenn has had a resurgence on this new line, and this game was a perfect example of that. The combination of Holloway, Kyrou, and Schenn combined for 3 of the Blues four goals and the Captain himself got two - his first multi-goal performance of the season. When Schenn is good, the team is good and I hope to see him maintain this level of play in the coming weeks.

Everyone knows Colton Parayko is an elite NHL defenseman. What most weren't aware of was his significant offensive potential; but he's making sure things don't stay that way for long. With his 99 mph slap shot goal in this game, he has now tied his career high in goals for a season (10) and has reached the back of the net in three straight games.

Hofer was an absolute stud in his rookie year last season, and while he has shown moments of brilliance this season; he has been lacking the consistency that makes a truly great goaltender. However, in the biggest game of the season he stepped up in a huge way, stopping 28 of 29 shots against including some very high danger chances by the Flames during their second period push. This makes Joel 7-1-1 in his last 9 starts, and he certainly has proven himself to be one of the league's best backups.

Sunny is a fan favorite in St. Louis, but I don't think anyone would deny his current level of play is not where this team needs it to be. Sundqvist has been racking up penalty minutes, some of which have been quite costly at a time when the defense has been great at limiting 5 on 5 chances. Sunny is also noticeably a step behind most players on the ice, and he does turn the puck over with relative frequency in the offensive zone. Admittedly he is being pushed by having to slot in as out 3C, but I think most fans that watch the game wonder how much better we could look with a more capable forward centering that line.

Parayko had the first goal of the game less than a minute in en route to one of his best games of the season on both the offensive and defensive end, and once again showed us why he is one of the best and most consistent defensemen in the league.

Binnington's recent woes were nowhere to be seen tonight, as he was a wall in net shutting down multiple high danger chances by the Flames in the final period. He finished the game saving 26 of 27 shots to secure 2 points we severely needed.

Faulk has recieved his fair share of criticism this season, but this game was a reminder of his value on the ice. He played an incredibly solid defensive game, shutting down multiple breakout chances for the Flames and constantly intercepting passes with good sticks. These are the things that don't show up on the stat sheet, but directly result in wins. Hope to see more games like this in the future from Justin.

Zach Bolduc and Nathan Walker were healthy scratches tonight, and while no one on the ice played poorly I think we were definitely missing the energy and offensive firepower these two can bring. Our team is at our best when these two are on the ice, and not playing them in a game as important as this one feels like a mistake regardless of the result.