The St. Louis Blues were caught flat-footed on multiple occasions during their 7-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. It was a game broadcasted on National TV, with it being the second part of the Wednesday Night Hockey broadcast on TNT, and it was a stinker for Blues and hockey fans alike.
After coming off a season-defining two-game winning streak against Vegas and Montreal, it was the fourth attempt at getting a three-game winning streak on the season was blown apart. There were chances of this game going in the Blues' favor, but it was all for nothing during the second period.
This month is already proving to be a bit of a gauntlet for this Blues team, especially since the Olympics are coming up next month.
Binnington rocked again
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington had a solid start against Montreal, stopping all 26 shots he faced and giving his team a shutout victory. It was his first shutout of the season, and the fourth between him and backup Joel Hofer. But this game had a different outcome.
The franchise-leading goaltender in wins was rocked with seven goals against on 35 shots on goal. Binnington had a couple that were out of his control, but also some that should have been easily stopped, as he has spent an entire career making those kinds of saves.
But it is impossible to ignore the elephant in the room that he was once again rocked. After 44 games, the roller coaster has yet to level out.
Fast start, comeback goals for nought
Tyler Tucker got the party started with a goal just 27 seconds in. It was a nice setup from the captain, Brayden Schenn, and it set the tone early. But, Chicago came back to score two unanswered into the middle of the second-period. Otto Stenberg then answered quickly after the second goal, with his first career goal.
But, all of that was for nothing as the Blackhawks then laid down their roots in the Blues' zone and peppered Binnington with a bunch of high-scoring chances and scored on five unanswered during the second and third periods. Tyler Tucker, who came back after a lengthy time away, notched a goal in garbage time to try and create a spark, but it was too late.
That fast start was all for nothing, as the Blues could not keep themselves out of the penalty box and could not stop a Connor Bedard-less Chicago power play. This is a serious hit to the Blues' ego.
Worst team in the NHL?
Now, the Blues have the least amount of goals scored in the NHL with 110, and the second-most allowed goals in the NHL with 151. That should constitute a label that this is the "worst team in the NHL". But, it isn't exactly true.
Currently, the Blues are still in a playoff hunt for the wildcard. With only one game in hand, they are only four and five points out of the two final spots in the Western Conference, which are currently held by the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, respectively.
It is a curious situation for this team to be in contention with those kinds of placements in the league for scoring. You would think that if they were last and nearly last in the two biggest stats categories, that they would be the front-runners for the top-overall pick in next year's draft.