You probably checked out the St. Louis Blues 2025-26 schedule by now, and even if you have, you probably circled a few games in red that you're vowing to tune into. But today, i wanted to take things a step further, and show you the three games I've marked with that good old red marker.
While there are a lot of matchups to choose from - it is an 82-game schedule that'll soon be evolving into an 84-game slate - this golden trio below jumped out for a few reasons. One of these teams gave the Blues a lot of competiton last season, both direct and indirect.
Another team, well, got the best of the Blues at the worst possible time. You can probably guess who they are while you're at it. As for the third team on this list? They're the 'boss bad guy' for just about every team this season, the Blues included.
1 - October 9th vs. Minnesota Wild
The Blues and Wild were in a constant battle for that first wild card spot late in the 2024-25 season. And while the Wild won the duel, the Blues still took the best team in hockey (the Jets) to a seven-game stretch regardless.
That said a lot about the Blues, but with the Central Division figuring to be a tough one again, the Blues need to do everything in their power to ward off their biggest competition for that fourth spot in the division. That will most likely be the Wild, even if the Utah Mammoth could sneak up on everyone.
While this is just the first of an 82-game slate, the Blues can't afford to give this team an inch. So, here's to them making a statement early, even if there will be 81 games to go after this.
2 - December 17th vs. Winnipeg Jets
I've never seen a team lose in such a heart-breaking fashion in any sport at any other time of my life. With Game 7 in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs winding down, the Blues had a commanding two-goal lead on the Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets...until they didn't.
How close were they to winning that night? Let's just say I had a post-game reaction piece written up that never saw the light of day for obvious reasons. Heck, I was so confident the Blues were going to hold off the Jets, I had it written, edited, formatted, and all I had to do was hit 'publish.'
Then the Jets tied the game before ultimately winning in double overtime. So, December 17th will be Game 1 of the regular season featuring these two teams. And it goes without saying that the Blues will have some built-up revenge.
3 - January 29th vs. Florida Panthers
Because who's not using the Florida Panthers as a measuring stick these days? Listen, if the Blues want to find out how good they truly are - assuming injuries don't ravage either team - this is a must-win contest. If the Blues can get the best of the Panthers, it'll give them a major confidence boost as the Winter Olympics loom not long after.
And if you remember it right, the Blues started getting hot right after the 4 Nations break. With the Olympics going on this time around, why not do the same here when they play Florida?
They'll have three more games after this one before the break officially begins, but this is the toughest matchup in the week leading up to it.
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