St. Louis Blues: Pandemic Ruined Repeat Chances, One Way Or Another
Before the playoffs, during and after, we found reasons the St. Louis Blues might not repeat. The pandemic played a big role in that, in more ways than one.
The St. Louis Blues got beat by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2020 NHL playoffs. There is no credit to be taken away from the opponent who went out there, did their job and won the games.
However, there are reasons that contributed to the Blues going home early. Some might label them as excuses, but excuses are more things that could have been overcome, whereas reasons are simply things that were out of anyone’s control and contributed to the team’s demise.
One of the main things that seemed to cost the Blues against the Vancouver Canucks was a lack of energy. They just didn’t have the legs, or the jump or the drive that we saw in the 2019 playoffs.
That was a huge reason they won the Stanley Cup. On paper, you could make an argument that the Blues were the less talented team in every playoff round they faced and yet they won because of a relentless style that simply wore other teams out.
That was missing in 2020. Some argue that the pandemic break was to blame, but all the teams faced the same issue.
The pandemic was to blame, but not in ways that would affect every team.
Not 100% bought in
This argument is difficult to make without sounding accusatory and questioning people’s motivations. But, it’s hard not to think there was not a complete buy in by everyone involved right from the start.
That starts with the general manager and trickles down through everyone, including the coaching staff.
When the NHL finally approved different phases and had certain dates in place for teams to reenter training, practice and then games, the Blues took a ho-hum attitude toward it all. In fact, Doug Armstrong said they would let the players dictate when they wanted to come back, if at all, for Phase 2.
Phase 2 was when teams could begin weight and cardio training, as well as take part in small, six-man on-ice training. The idea was clearly that the Blues already knew the rigors of the playoffs, so they did not need to ramp everything up immediately.
The less wear and tear on the body, the better. The flip side of that is that the Blues conditioning seemed absent in a lot of important spots during the Canucks series.
Especially in Game 6, it seemed as though the Blues wanted to give more but their bodies simply would not let them.
The same could be said for Phase 3. Craig Berube told the media that they were going at it hard and pushing guys, but without an open practice to be viewed, we are taking him at his word.
Nobody thinks of Berube as a liar and he almost always shoots straight. He is quite protective of his players though, so he might cover for any lackluster effort once the real practices began.
Maybe an extra practice or two or a little more push during conditioning drills might not have changed the outcome. It might have though.
When you play an intense style that requires a lot of physicality, you cannot really go from 0-60 in two seconds. Ask any of the teams the Blues played in 2019.
St. Louis took teams like Winnipeg, Dallas and San Jose out of their comfort zone because they tried to counteract the Blues physicality. When you’re not used to playing that way, it’s hard on the body.
For all we know, that was the case with the Blues. They took too much time off during the pandemic break and did not do enough to get back into shape once they were allowed.
The players said all the right things during the pandemic, but there were comments made afterward that lead one to believe some players treated the break like an old-school offseason. There were rumors of a bit too much relaxing and partaking in adult beverages.
Bubble life not what was promised
As regular people, we should not shed any tears for pro athletes who had to go through a quarantine life. Plenty of us did it when the entire pandemic began and we did not have big houses to quarantine in.
That said, apparently the bubble life was not really what was sold to the public or the players. In fact, it was quite different.
When the bubble environment was announced, many, including myself, took some jabs. It seemed disingenuous to be complaining about a setup that would include golf, movie theaters, multiple places to eat and various other activities available.
After the fact, that was not what actually came to be. We would later find out that quarantine actually was what it sounded like – a quarantine.
Players had no real freedom. There were food trucks around, but that was about it to the 24 teams to start and the 16 teams of the first round.
Players were not necessarily confined to their rooms. However, when your choice is your room or a common room, it’s not much of a choice.
The golf course situation never materialized. There are some that say the golf course and other things were always meant for the teams that advanced to later rounds, to minimize the amount of outside interaction. That was not implicitly stated from the start.
There were activity rooms on each floor, but they ended up amounting to little more than a community room you’d find at any college dorm. Sure, you can do things in there like play cards, but there’s only so much time you can spend in there.
Most players ended up staying in their own room or going to other teammate’s rooms. They would either watch TV or play video games.
When you’re busy and have little time, that always sounds like the life. When that’s really all you can do, not just want to do, it becomes a very different situation.
Think of your own life or your own quarantine situation. Maybe you had a lot of comforts of home.
The mental strain of not even having the option to do this or that can become taxing. Now, try to perform your best at work with that mental strain.
In a situation like the playoffs, where you need to be on your game the entire time and still need a few bounces to go your way, any distraction can go from a mole hill into a mountain.
No fans
Going into the playoffs, many assumed that the Blues would be perfectly suited to the bubble scenario. Their style did not seem to need the timing that offensive teams would need. That proved to be somewhat false.
We also assumed playing in an empty arena might not affect the Blues as much since they were so comfortable on the road in 2019, and during the regular season. 10 of the Blues 16 playoff wins in 2019 came on the road.
Even on the road, though, there is a certain energy to playing in front of a live crowd. Sometimes you can feed off that negativity.
In an NHL documentary on rivalries, Brett Hull discussed how he loved playing at Chicago Stadium. He got a jolt out of seeing his effigy hanging from the balcony by a noose.
Similarly, there is a boost of confidence a player can get by silencing a crowd. When the opposing building is rocking and the ground is shaking and you make that all go silent, it energizes your team. To shut up thousands of people is a satisfying feeling, even if you only experience it on the inside.
Without that energy, the Blues did not have anything to feed off in their lower moments. There was no explosion for a Jaden Schwartz goal or a big Jordan Binnington save. It was all met with silence and canned noise no matter what happened.
There was no silencing a crowd either. We can sit on our couches and say it should not matter, but some athletes feed off that kind of stuff and without it, it’s no different than a random practice.
Were they sick?
When the various phases came and went, we knew that some of the Blues contracted covid-19. They shut down their entire facility, stopped practicing and had no meetings.
What we did not know was who and how many. At the time, it could have been just a staff member and the team being cautious.
After the season was over, Doug Armstrong said about 20% of the team had the virus. They were not asymptomatic either.
“Yeah it did (affect their conditioning), just because when they were quarantining, they couldn’t go to the gym or do certain things,” Armstrong said, reported by Chris Pinkert. “It affected each player differently. Some lost a considerable amount of weight. They all felt some form of a symptom. It wasn’t that they had it and didn’t feel anything.”
This was news nobody really expected when it was released. We all knew someone had the virus and many expected it was Vince Dunn since he was held out for so long.
We did not know that many players contracted it and all had symptoms. You can say there are no excuses since they went ahead and played, but being sick with anything is a reason you might not perform.
Think of your own life experiences. I know that after having even just a stomach issue or a cold, going back to the gym is murder because your body is just not prepared.
Your cardio shape has all but vanished and even strength levels are way down. In a sport that requires insane amounts of cardiovascular stamina and strength to win puck battles, being at less then 100% puts you behind the eight ball.
We were not those players. We don’t know how they felt or how the sickness might have taken a toll on them.
Each of us have our own beliefs on the virus and how the responsible authorities have reacted to all of this. However, whether you think it’s a new plague or just the next cold, the bottom line is a decent amount of players got sick.
When you’re sick, your body is trying to fight the battle inside first and everything outside is secondary. That could explain the lack of energy just as much, if not more, than a lack of training intensity.
We will never know. The sad thing is this team was built to repeat.
They were the best team in the Western Conference for almost the entire regular season. Colorado was creeping up, but the Blues were still rolling.
No matter how you slice it, nobody can deny that the pandemic pause derailed the Blues. Whether they did not take things as seriously as they needed, whether it was a lack of fans or lack of family during the quarantine or whether they were still dealing with the aftereffects of the virus, the pause cost them a true opportunity to repeat.
Next. 6 games put Blues goalie situation into flux. dark
Maybe they would have played in a second final or maybe they get bounced in the second round. We will never know, but I would take my chances with that Blues team that played against Anaheim in March over what ended up playing in Edmonton, any day of the week.