Left and right? Blues may struggle, but there are positives

Oct 30, 2022 - 2:30 PM

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Hey, everyone! I’m back at St. Louis Game Time after a hectic past few months. Please say a prayer for me or send me a hug. And, if you can afford to do so, please donate to my GoFundMe here. Thank you.

Now, I’ll get to the good stuff. I’m happy to share my news and commentary about the St. Louis Blues to the public. Before the start of the 2022-23 NHL season, I asked my Twitter followers, “How far will the Blues make it in the playoffs?”

Here are my poll’s results: 40% said Stanley Cup Final, 30% said Second Round, 20% said First Round, and 10% said Conference Final.

Personally, I think that the Blues will make it to the Western Conference Final, but I could be wrong. They could falter in the first round (again) or cruise to the Stanley Cup Final. We’ll see what happens!

The Blues brought a 3-0 record into Winnipeg, Manitoba on October 24th, only to lose to the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 for their first loss of the season. The Blues went on to lose 3-1 to the Edmonton Oilers on October 26th and 6-2 to the Nashville Predators, respectively.

In a nutshell, St. Louis won the first three games as an undefeated NHL team and then lost four games. I’ve seen some Blues fans that thought the three-game winning streak was a fluke while others thought they’ll be just fine.

Where do I stand? It’s early in the season, and the Blues have plenty of time to turn things around. I’m not sure if the team will repeat their performance in the 2018-19 NHL season and advance to the Stanley Cup Final, but I think that the Blues could finish the division as high as second place at the end of 2022-23.

I like the Blues’ defense. Nick Leddy and Thomas Greiss as they aren’t as bad as some fans make them out to be. But the defense has to keep up for the best results.

When it comes to the Blues’ offense, the offensive lines need to come around. But that can be a tall order because the Blues have been playing wishy-washy offense as of late. The Blues may not successfully capitalize on pressure without the offensive services of Brandon Saad, who’s dealing with an upper-body injury.

Fast forward to Saturday’s home game against the Montreal Canadiens on October 29th. The Blues got off to a fast start, thanks to Jordan Kyrou. Kyrou scored two goals — one in the first period and the other in the second period. The Blues held a 3-1 lead until the Canadiens began their onslaught with five consecutive goals from the mid-second period to early in the third period. Vladimir Tarasenko stopped the Canadiens’ five-goal gain with his third goal of the season early in the third. Basically, St. Louis took their foot off the gas and took a 7-4 loss for their fourth straight loss since October 22nd.

Saturday’s loss was pretty ugly, but the Blues had some positive stats. Kyrou scored two goals, while Tarasenko added one goal and Justin Faulk collected two assists. Jordan Binnington made 18 saves on 24 shots.

Up Next: The Blues continue their homestand by hosting the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, October 31 at 7:00 pm Central. Happy Halloween, everyone!