After going 3-0 against the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, and Dallas Stars last week, the St. Louis Blues made a statement and looked to be in great shape in the Central Division race.
Not only did they 3-0 against those Western Conference heavyweights, they also had a prime opportunity ahead of them this week facing the bottom dwellers in the Western Conference during a five-game road trip.
However, a 7-4 loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday night should have sent a message to the St. Louis Blues that they need to take every team in the NHL seriously.
Wednesday night was a match-up against the last place team in the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers.
Once again, the Blues couldn’t take advantage of a non-playoff team. Once again, the Blues’ penalty-kill was disastrous, as opponents have gone 8-19 on the power play in the last five games against St. Louis. The Blues have allowed at least one power play goal in five consecutive games.
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After allowing two shorthanded goals and a power play goal Monday at Calgary, the Blues allowed four power play goals against Edmonton.
For the second consecutive game, the Blues allowed three goals in the second period entering the third period with a 5-2 deficit.
Though just like against Monday against the Flames, the Blues didn’t go down without a fight. A power play goal by Patrik Berglund and a goal from David Backes, his second of the game, cut the deficit to 5-4 in the third period.
The comeback wouldn’t be enough, as it was too little too late once again for the Blues on this Canadian road trip.
Troy Brouwer‘s five-minute major game-misconduct with 5:56 remaining in the third period basically was the nail in the coffin.
Edmonton added an empty netter in the final minute and came away with the 6-4 victory.
Jake Allen may need a break, as the Blues have allowed 13 goals in these last two losses, so it will be interesting to see if Brian Elliott is ready to go Saturday night against the Canucks in Vancouver.
With 10 games remaining in the regular season, there is still positive news for the Blues, as they are still tied in the points column atop the Central Division and Western Conference with the Stars.
However, the Stars has lost two straight, the Blackhawks have lost four straight, and now the Blues have all of a sudden lost two straight.
The Central Division is definitely still up for grabs heading down the stretch run, but if St. Louis doesn’t end up on top, these two games against Calgary and Edmonton just might be the reason why.
Next: Should Hitchcock Return?
These last two games have been missed opportunities, but maybe the Blues will be more focused moving forward as they had a closed-door meeting after this loss.
#Blues having a closed-door meeting after losing 6-4 to #Oilers.
— Derek Van Diest (@DerekVanDiest) March 17, 2016
A much needed two days off is ahead for the Blues, then it’s back to action Saturday night against the Canucks in Vancouver as they look to end this two-game losing streak.