St. Louis Blues Have Hit Rock Bottom

The St. Louis Blues have lost almost every single important player to injury this season. Surely this is as bad as it can get…right?

Most people are probably asking “What do you mean rock bottom? The Blues are the third best team in the conference.” No, I’m not talking about standings. We’re talking about injuries.

The Blues apparently went to the Oprah show when she was handing out injuries.

The Blues only have three players that have played in all their games this season (62 as of writing this). Surprisingly, two of the three are power forwards who get in the dirty areas in David Backes and Troy Brouwer.

Now, some injuries have only been bumps and bruises or the precautionary sitting of a player for a game or two so something small doesn’t become something big. However, the amount of players and amount of games lost on this team is becoming staggering.

In the cases of Patrik Berglund, Steve Ott and Jaden Schwartz the numbers are in the 40’s each in terms of games missed, with Ott’s going up all the time. What’s even more upsetting is that the range of injuries covers just about anything and everything.

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Vladimir Tarasenko and Colton Parayko have been out sick, Parayko also had a bad foot/ankle from blocking a shot, Ott blew out a hamstring, Carl Gunnarsson had a probable concussion and Paul Stastny went out for an extended time with the ever present “upper body injury.” In addition to those Berglund had put off surgery that he ended up needing and Schwartz came down with a freak injury by colliding with the net in practice.

Adding insult to injury (literally and figuratively), the Blues have now lost both of their goaltenders for extended periods. Jake Allen was out from January 8 to February 22 with an apparent knee injury. Now his counterpart Brian Elliott, as soon as he seemed to have claimed the number one job and had a grasp on the top save percentage in the league, will be out at least a month with his own lower-body injury.

It’s almost unfathomable, but that’s what has happened to a club that has every chance at overcoming their postseason demons if they could only get everyone on the ice. Every time you think it can’t get worse or when the Blues are on the cusp of getting their main roster healthy, something else happens. This was never more evident than the two weeks or so.

#stlblues lose 25:00 D-man, 20:00 forward, and hottest goalie in the #NHL in a matter of days #unreal
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) February 23, 2016

Elliott will be the tenth player this season for the Blues to miss at least three weeks of action. Then, on top of all the injuries, the Blues can’t seem to stay on the ice for other reasons as well. Ryan Reaves is likely to be suspended for his hit during the game (UPDATE: Reaves was suspended three games) with San Jose that also saw Elliott go down.

Lots of salt in the wound after his deserved ejection. Basically, it has gotten to the point where there are two outcomes. The Blues might keep finding a way to get it done and this leads to one of those Hollywood stories that ends in the Blues win the Cup. Or this might just be a continual omen that it just isn’t meant to happen this year.

This has to be the bottom right? It can’t get any worse can it? Well, I suppose it could since there’s only one player that could make it any worse. You know who I’m talking about.

Yes, let’s not even put that in our collective minds. The way this year has gone, it can always get worse. It sounds terrible to say that, but so far nothing has happened to make anyone think differently. The Blues have had people get sick, kicked out of games, pick up freak injuries, have surgeries, lose both goaltenders and have all of their projected top three scorers go out.

So, we let us all pray, or meditate, or shout at the TV…or go to whatever higher power you personally see fit.

Let us all hope that this is leading to something good, because Blues fans have been through enough heartache in the playoffs. Having to suffer through all of this in addition to another postseason failure would be akin to pouring a mountain of salt on a gaping wound.

Next: Trade Rumor: Blues After Jannik Hansen

It can’t be. It just can’t be that. This just has to be the bottom. Nowhere to go but up from here. Right?

Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, the Blues have done a hell of a job to this point. With 20 games left, they’re third in the Western Conference and fourth best overall. Someone has always stepped into the void left by anyone who has gone down. The postseason and it’s ups and downs are still to come, but this has been one heck of a job by the players and coaches alike.