The St. Louis Blues were unable to hold their early lead and lost to the New York Rangers, 3-2. This was the fourth game of the five-game road trip, and the first game to feature an outcome of no points for the Blues.
Here are three takeaways from the unfortunate contest.
Hofer played great
Despite the loss, backup goaltender Joel Hofer looked stellar against the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history, Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers. He stopped 17 of 20 shots from the Rangers, which is respectable.
Analytically, he faced a respectable amount of medium and high danger chances, but allowed one goal in each of those circumstances. But, there was also a low-danger chance that he allowed, which is not always a good thing. Overall, a -0.85 Goals Saved Above Average is not terrible considering how Hofer's season has gone thus far.
Hofer and Jordan Binnington have gotten better over the past two weeks of games, which is a great sign for this Blues team.
Neighbours got wrecked
Jake Neighbours has to be careful as he cannot land back on the injury list. Against the Rangers, Neighbours was subject to a couple of hard hits and high sticks, forcing him to the ground on a couple of occasions. He drew a high-sticking penalty on defenseman Braden Schneider in the second period and then a double-minor from Brett Berard in the third period.
The Blues offense could not capitalize on either of those two calls, leaving Neighbours getting all bloodied for nothing. The offense might have dried up at the worst possible time right now.
First full loss of road trip
This loss against the Rangers was the first time on this five-game road trip that the Blues did not gain a single point in a game. With one more game against the New Jersey Devils left before returning home, we will see just how far this team has come since their last home effort against the Vegas Golden Knights on November 15.
If the Blues can come away with another win against the Devils on Wednesday, there is a valid reason to say that this roadtrip was a success. But, did it change the tide of the season, that remains to be seen.