ST. LOUIS – It hasn’t necessarily been smooth sailing for the St. Louis Blues of late. If anything, far from it.
Nearing the quarter point of their 2024-25 campaign, the Blues have endured several notable blowout losses and are seemingly stretched thin with their depth due to injuries.
The latest setback was a crushing 8-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday, punctuated by allowing five third-period goals and falling below the .500 mark. That marks two consecutive losses for the Blues and five in their last seven games. Saturday was also the second time they have lost by a lopsided score of 8-1 in that stretch.
Some players, including veteran defenseman Justin Faulk, expressed frustration after the defeat, saying the team need to show more “respect” for playing a full game.
So how does the team look to bounce back from a sloppy stretch, 5-8-0 in 13 games since back-to-back wins to open the season?
After an off-day Sunday, planned ahead of the season due to NHL’s collective bargaining agreement rules, the Blues regrouped Monday for a practice geared toward fundamentals. Head coach Drew Bannister told The Athletic’s Blues beat reporter Jeremy Rutherford that the Blues worked on situational tactics like being aggressive on line changes and tightening up their forecheck and neutral zone play.
A few times during Monday’s practice Bannister and Ott also stopped drills to offer real-time feedback. Coaches and players felt the change of pace was productive.
“As a staff, as the players, I’m sure it was a tough day to get through, and [Sunday] was a day where we could collect ourselves and go through things as a staff and present it to players as simple as possible, and make the adjustments we need so we can have success moving forward,” Bannister told FOX 2 on Monday.
“Some days you’re going to get beat up a little bit more than others as far as [coaches] being hard on us, which is good,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn told FOX 2. “Some days, you’re going to come in and have everyone take a breath, and relax, and focus on the next game. I think that’s where we’re at right now.”
Injuries have also piled up for the Blues in recent weeks.
Last year’s leading scorer Robert Thomas fractured his ankle on Oct. 22 and is likely sidelined through at least mid-December. Defensemen Philip Broberg, a bright spot early on for St. Louis, is likely out for a similar length with a leg injury suffered on Nov. 4.
New defensive-specialist forward Mathieu Joseph is expected to return Tuesday after a lower-body injury on Oct. 26. Meanwhile, veteran defenseman Nick Leddy has been out since the Blues home opener on Oct. 15 with a lower-body injury and his timetable to return is unclear.
Thomas, Broberg, Joseph and Leddy all bring unique qualities and experience to the team that is difficult to replace, even with internal options. As Bannister mentioned to media members after Saturday’s loss, there’s not much of an option to find reinforcements elsewhere right now, so the Blues are hoping internal adjustments, such as a renewed focus on fundamentals in Monday’s practice, can help the team find some rhythm.
Heading into Tuesday, the Blues have the third-fewest goals for (38) and the ninth-most goals against (52) in the league, along with the worst power play success rate (10.81%) and tenth-worst penalty kill (75.6%) league-wide.
The Blues close out a five-game homestand on Tuesday against the Boston Bruins, followed by an East Coast road swing of three games in four days before their next homestand.
While early in the season, the Blues are only two points out of a playoff spot as of Tuesday. This week’s slate of games should be a good indicator of whether the Blues can keep pace or continue to lose ground through a tough stretch.