The St. Louis Blues faced off against the Vegas Golden Knights in the second-part of their back-to-back, and lost again. After a wild 6-5 loss to Philadelphia on Friday night, the cards were not in the Blues favor, losing to Vegas 4-1 in a stumbling and lackluster fashion.
Here are three things to takeway from the loss.
Time to panic, again?
There have been several instances this season of the Blues having to potentially hit the panic button. The start of the year was not great, then both Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours go down, followed by the benching of Jordan Kyrou. This team has really been putting us fans through it this year, huh?
Now, with another loss that had the potential of a victory, the panic button comes back into view. The Blues were caught flat-footed, and goaltender Joel Hofer was once again rocked after back-to-back solid starts for him. Let us all hope this is not a sign of regression.
Is it time to reach for the panic button again, or can this team setle down and get back to business?
Time to get drastic, again?
Remember what I said earlier about the benching of Jordan Kyrou, and then they came out and destroyed Buffalo, 3-0. Well, we might be heading back into that direction. The Blues continue to slide down the pole of the Western Conference standings, and more importantly, the Central Divsion standings. With a record that now reads as 6-9-4 for 16 points, they are tied with Nashville at the bottom.
This team has proven itself solid when it works together. 19 games in, it shouldn't be the time to still be figuring things out; hence, it might be time for head coach Jim Montgomery to make a rash decision on benching someone. There is one player in mind who might be the perfect candidate, and that is Pavel Buchnevich.
Time for leadership to step up, again?
Captain Brayden Schenn has to rally these guys in the locker room. Playing back-to-back games is hard, and losing both of them in front of the home fans is even harder. There have to be some words said from the leadership group, and it cannot be sugarcoated.
The Blues need to turn this around now, or else you can call the season a dud. There should be no reason that a team that "improved" its roster in the offseason cannot string together a couple of points on a four-game homestand that included a back-to-back. Grabbing three of a possible eight points is not acceptable in as tough a division as the Central.
What is Schenn, Montgomery, and General Manager Doug Armstrong going to do about this?