St. Louis Blues Morning Links: Hoping To Avoid Pepsi Plunge
Good morning Blues fans! It’s time for this team to get back on track and prove they are worth something. What better way to do that than imposing their will on one of the worst teams in the league?
The St. Louis Blues take on the Colorado Avalanche tonight. The Blues are hoping to avoid extending their season long losing streak with a win at the Pepsi Center.
The Blues and Avalanche will get quite used to each other for the rest of the season. The divisional opponents face one another another three times, with the Blues already winning the only game the two teams have played.
St. Louis destroyed Colorado 5-1 the last time. Now, they are hoping for a similar result since it would give their fading playoff hopes a boost.
As things stand this morning, the Blues are one point out of the final wild card spot. Los Angeles lost last night and will not play until Thursday.
So, the Blues must make the most of the two games they have in hand on the Kings. St. Louis must win tonight, get back into that wild card spot and then figure things out for the rest of the season.
It is not impossible to get into the playoffs if they lose tonight. It is not impossible, but it is improbable. If you cannot beat one of the teams at the bottom of the league, then why even make the playoffs? There seems little chance to beat the big boys when you cannot beat the little fish, unless you are Liverpool this season (sorry for the reference most might not get).
The Blues just need a boost. Mike Yeo has quickly picked up on this team’s shortcomings and inability to stay focused for long periods of time.
He called the team’s loss/lack of offense against Winnipeg a slap in the face. It is up to the Blues to wake up from that slap or just stand there looking stupid.
We continue to hope the Blues can change. We continue to hope this team is more talented than they show on a regular basis.
They are more talented, but at this point of the season even the most optimistic of us have to admit this team is what it is. That does not mean missing the playoffs will be a good thing as some suggest.
The Blues pump most of their revenue back into the team. Not having any playoff revenue would not mean Tom Stillman is going to push his chips all on the table in free agency come the summer.
So, the Blues have to prove they are worth the investment. They need to turn the Pepsi Center into the House of Blues for one more night and get the ship righted, if only for a moment.
Here are your St. Louis Blues Morning Links to get your day started off right.
Blues coach Mike Yeo continued some of his tough talk before the team left for the mountains. Yeo said there might be some lineup changes and some lines might see more action as he attempts to hold his underperforming stars more accountable. (STLToday)
While the Blues are not giving up on this season, they are also at a point where they need to decide who can contribute for the future. One of those guys is Jordan Schmaltz, who just got recalled before the weekend. While no decisions will be made until the morning skate is over, Schmaltz might see his NHL debut tonight. (Post-Dispatch)
The St. Louis Blues clearly did not have just about anything go this year as planned. With hindsight fully behind us, we may look back at the summer of 2016 as when this team took a turn for the worse. Whether it turns around in one more summer or takes several is up to the guys on the ice. (Bleedin’ Blue)
People smarter than ourselves have long been using analytics as a way to discuss sports and how to analyze players and stats. Now those people are looking at ways to present those numbers to fans so we can all change the way we view the game. (NHL)
Though admitting his actions were wrong Antoine Vermette felt his 10-game suspension was excessive. Sounding more like a person wanting to get it over with than being contrite, he will not appeal the decision. (ESPN)
Have a great day Blues fans!