Blues Team Notes

[St. Louis Blues]

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[St. Louis Blues]

Kings at Blues GameDay Thread

Can the Blues turn around a sinking ship?

To say that the Blues’ play as of late has been uninspiring is being very generous. Mired in their longest regulation losing streak since Craig Berube took over as coach, the pressure is on for this team to play as well as they did during the first three games.

Brandon Saad is still out for tonight, but the team has options, and they’ve chosen to exercise them. From stlblues.com, here’re tonight’s lines:

Forwards

Schenn - O’Reilly - Kyrou

Buchnevich - Thomas - Tarasenko

Neighbours - Brown - Barbashev

Toropchenko - Acciari - Pitlick

Defense

Krug - Faulk

Leddy - Parayko

Rosen - Bortuzzo

Goalie

Binnington

As you can see, Nathan Walker’s taking the night off, and Calle Rosen is going in with Robert Bortuzzo instead of Niko Mikkola. The usual pairings of Torey Krug/Justin Faulk and Nick Leddy/Colton Parayko are back together. Jordan Binnington gets the start.

Basically, the hopes for a win tonight hedge upon some very tiny, tiny changes in the lineup - and hopefully some changes in mindset too. Focus and playing the fundamentals is what’s going to get the Blues a win; if it doesn’t happen tonight, who knows how long the team’s leash will be.

This is your GameDay Thread. Comment like you’re ready for some hocus pocus.

Let’s do this. Let’s Go Blues

Source: https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2022/10/31/23433198/kings-at-blues-gameday-thread

 

[St. Louis Blues]

Kings at Blues preview: Struggling Blues need some consistent effort

Photo by Joe Puetz/NHLI via Getty Images

What is going on with this team?

It’s been a while since Blues fans have been treated to a stretch of play this putrid. What began as a good effort loss to the Winnipeg Jets last week has slid into an absolute dumpster fire in which it looks like the Blues are actively trying to lose games.

Their 6-2 loss against the Nashville Predators was bad, but their 7-4 loss on Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens was atrocious. A blown 3-1 lead slid into a meltdown that was absolutely inexcusable, home ice or not.

Hopefully coach Craig Berube was able to practice the lack of confidence right out of this team yesterday. The team knows what they need to do, the coaches know what they need to do - let’s hope that they do it. This is the longest regulation losing streak under Berube, but that doesn’t mean it’s something to sleep on. Early season points mean as much as late season points, and after starting off with a three game win streak, a four game losing streak is inexcusable. A loss tonight to the Kings would push that over into unknown territory for this coaching staff.

“It’s about staying with things and playing the right way all the time,” Berube said. “We’re letting teams off the hook. We had a 3-1 lead and we turn a puck over or we don’t make good puck play and we kinda give them a little momentum when we don’t need to. We gotta keep hammering teams, keep going at ’em with our game. I don’t feel like we’re doing that for 60 minutes.”

That’s not exactly a quote from Berube that’s specific to just this season, is it?

The Kings come in tonight with a .500 record, but so did the Habs on Saturday, so we all know how much the opposition’s record means to the Blues’ success. Both Jonathan Quick and Cal Peterson are struggling as the season begins, and that’s something that’s like reverse catnip to Blues scorers right now.

Here’s hoping that the Blues give us some full bars for Halloween tonight instead of being those weird people who give out pennies and toothbrushes. We all had that house in our neighborhood, and no one liked them.

Source: https://www.stlouisgametime.com/202...-struggling-blues-need-some-consistent-effort

 

[St. Louis Blues]

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

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Blues fans can manage frustration with confidence.

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.

Colton Parayko: “It’s on us to loosen up, get back to the way we play and get some swagger back… we gotta get back to simplicity. That’s the way we’re going to get out of it.” #stlblues

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) October 30, 2022

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!

Source: https://www.stlouisgametime.com/202...ht-blues-may-struggle-but-there-are-positives

 

[St. Louis Blues]

Canadiens at Blues GameDay Thread

Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

What lines will we see tonight against the Habs?

If you saw the news that Pavel Buchnevich was activated from the IR and got very happy about the prospects for tonight’s game, well...

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be in.

He’s getting one more game’s worth of rest before returning Monday night against the Los Angeles Kings, and honestly, a healthy Buchnevich is worth one more game out. Will that make a win against the Montreal Canadiens harder for the Blues? Who’s to say? The Predators were struggling before their 6-2 victory against the Blues on Thursday night set them straight. The Habs already took down the Sabres, who have been playing well to start this season. The jury is very out on how they’ll play against the Blues.

Here’re tonight’s lines from stlblues.com:

Forwards

Schenn - O’Reilly - Tarasenko

Neighbours - Thomas - Kyrou

Toropchenko - Brown - Barbashev

Walker - Acciari - Pitlick

Defense

Mikkola - Parayko

Leddy - Faulk

Krug - Bortuzzo

Goalie

Binnington

This is your GameDay Thread. Comment like you’d love to know what’s up with those defensive pairings.

Let’s do this. Let’s Go Blues.

Source: https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2022/10/29/23429948/canadiens-at-blues-gameday-thread

 

[St. Louis Blues]

Blues activate Pavel Buchnevich from IR

Photo by Scott Rovak/NHLI via Getty Images

Does this mean that scoring reinforcements are coming?

The Blues’ offense has been sputtering thanks to the absence of Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad. Thankfully, part of the missing pieces are returning tonight.

The Blues have announced that they have activated Buchnevich from the IR, and will be sending Josh Leivo down to the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Buchnevich has only had the opportunity to play in one game, the team’s opening night win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He may not be in the lineup tonight against the Canadiens, and with the full stable of forwards the Blues have coach Craig Berube may not be in any rush in getting Buchnevich back into the lineup until Monday night’s Halloween matchup against the Los Angeles Kings.

Buchnevich’s return then may be more of an impact than it could be tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, who - like the Blues - are sitting at .500 to start their season after eight games.

Source: https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2022/10/29/23430046/blues-activate-pavel-buchnevich-from-ir

 

[St. Louis Blues]

Canadiens at Blues preview: Can the Blues snap their losing streak?

Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

This could be a tougher task than the Blues expect.

The less said about the Blues’ humbling 6-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Thursday night the better. Goaltending was a mess of flubber and kicksaves straight to the opposing team. Defense, which has been strong through a bulk of the Blues’ season so far, followed the goaltending, making for discombobulated scene. The offense, which shone through the Blues’ first three games, has been nearly absent their last three.

The Blues last three games have declined from a generally good effort in Winnipeg to a two period out of three game against the Oilers to a wake-up call against the Predators. The most frustrating part of this may be that the reasons for the stumbles - Pavel Buchnevich’s and Brandon Saad’s absences - won’t be fixed any time soon. Coach Craig Berube is going to have to continue to adjust the lines to see what works, and the players - well, they need to step it up.

Most fans would consider the arrival of the Montreal Canadiens to St. Louis to be the perfect opportunity for this to happen. The Habs, like the Blues, sit at .500 on the young season. They defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Thursday, fighting off one of the league’s pleasant surprise teams. Granted, the Habs and goaltender Sam Montembeault had to deal with 45 shots on net from the Sabres - if the Blues can keep up the pressure on tonight’s starter, old friend Jake Allen, the Habs’ defense could well crack easier than the Predators’.

The question isn’t necessarily if the Blues can maintain pressure, it’s whether or not they can capitalize on it without Buchnevich and Saad. Jordan Binnington, who has been strong this season to start, should be back in net tonight, so the outcome should be preferable to the mess that happened Thursday night. Luckily the Canadiens’ power play won’t be much of a threat, going just 1 for 24 this year, but if the Blues’ offense doesn’t click it doesn’t matter how much work needs to be done on the Habs’ part.

Source: https://www.stlouisgametime.com/202...review-can-the-blues-snap-their-losing-streak

 

[St. Louis Blues]

Blues defense, goalkeeping collapse in embarrassing 6-2 loss in Nashville

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Once on a five game losing streak, the Predators erupted to punish the Blues.

Brayden Schenn blasted a one-timer into the roof of the net to make the score 2-1 midway through the second period. The Blues looked like they may break the game wide open against a Predators team on a five game skid. Instead, Schenn’s goal was the last time the Blues looked remotely interested in scoring for the remainder of the game.

Absolutely Schenn-sational. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/dvylU4icm1

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) October 28, 2022

The Blues stalling on offense was somewhat to be expected though. The Blues have looked toothless in their three previous games. However, Craig Berube made it clear that the primary focus coming into this game was on fixing the offense and generating more second and third chance opportunities. Instead, Berube has to pick up the pieces in a hurry as his squad dropped their third straight game after an atrocious defensive performance and suspect goalkeeping led them to a 6-2 defeat.

Nashville’s fourth goal perfectly encapsulates the game from the Blues’ perspective. With Justin Faulk rotated deep in the zone, Robert Thomas whiffed on a 50/50 puck that a Nashville defender poked forward to create one of the numerous three-on-one opportunities that the Predators enjoyed. After Thomas Greiss made a weak first save on a routine wrister, Tony Krug looked disinterested in clearing the puck at his feet. Krug’s lackadaisical effort allowed Ryan Johansen to casually pass the puck into the back of the net to seal the game for the Predators.

That’s a frosty goal pic.twitter.com/Rjs018WG3g

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 28, 2022

While defense’s poor effort certainly did no favors for Greiss, the backup goalie looked lost on the ice. Greiss gave up three rebound goals and two additional soft goals. Former Blue Zach Sanford scored a wrap-around that should have been a routine save to give the Predators the lead nearing the end of the second period. For the second soft goal, Nashville whiffed on a shot that hit the boards. While Greiss was pre-occupied with a defender in the crease, the puck bounced off his pads and eventually found its way into the back of the net.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/zXLLDtCt3V

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 28, 2022

While the Blues have several key injuries, there is simply no excuse for the Thursday’s performance. Regardless if you pin the loss on Greiss or the defense, it was hard to spot any player in a white jersey who gave a winning effort. Six games into the season, it is far too early to hit the panic button. However, if the Blues give a similar effort with Binnington in net against the Canadians on Satruday, the team will find themselves at the bottom of the Central Divison when October ends.

Source: https://www.stlouisgametime.com/202...ollapse-in-embarrassing-6-2-loss-in-nashville