The St. Louis Blues are keeping the season alive with another victory in the late stages of the 2025-26 season. Seriously, where was this kind of success for the last five months?
It was a complete effort to beat the postseason outside-looking-in Washington Capitals, 3-0. Let's go over some of the big takeaways from the contest.
Snuggerud is a superstar
There is no denying the pure skill that is resonating around No. 21 right now. Jimmy Snuggerud is a superstar, and he is shaping himself to be a cornerstone piece for this franchise. He set himself up in "Ovechkin's office" and nailed a sweet one-timer to open the scoring in this one.
The Blues are entering some unknown territory at the conclusion of this season, but one thing is for sure: Snuggerud is going to be the main component. As of right now, he is more important to this franchise than Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, and Dylan Holloway combined.
Joel Hofer
This latest shutout is the sixth on the season for goaltender Joel Hofer. Both Hofer and Jordan Binnington are still locked up dead-even at 35 starts a piece, but it is clear who has performed better in those starts.
Hofer is approaching Brian Elliott's franchise record of nine, and is still chasing after the New York Islanders goalie, Ilya Sorokin, of seven shutouts for this season's top-spot in shutouts.
Logan Mailloux
On the defensive side, Logan Mailloux continues to be fantastic for the Blues. He set up Snuggerud with a beautiful cross-ice pass, right to the sweet spot for that one-timer. Now, he has six assists on the season, and climbing.
There is still a lot more that he has to do to be able to call this season a success. This recent stretch has been eye-opening and should be considered a small glimpse into what kind of player he can be, but it has to be consistent over an entire season. Young players have growing pains, but Mailloux's were extreme to start the season.
It is nice to see the complete 180-degree turnaround he is having right now.