The St. Louis Blues put up a win in the preseason and took it against their most heated rival, the Chicago Blackhawks, 1-0. This was a hard-fought win, with both sides playing very strong defensively.
One of the bigger takeaways from this game is that the Blues have played three preseason games and have scored that many goals as well. Two straight 2-1 losses, followed by the 1-0 win against Chicago, have raised some red flags prior to the start of the regular season.
Let’s talk about it.
Although incomplete roster, there should be more offense
The final roster is not set and has not been accurately placed on the ice in the three preseason games. But the first line of Robert Thomas, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Dylan Holloway has been out there, as well as the new guys, Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael.
All of these NHL regulars have been out there in some way, shape, or form, and very little has been shown on the scoresheet. Jonatan Berggren, Calle Rosen, and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki have been the only Blues players to score this preseason.
The individual performances should have shown something more than three goals in three games.
This isn’t the best this team can do, right?
The hope is that with a complete roster, the Blues can hit the ground running in the Central Division. The opening games of the regular season are tough ones, and even though there are two more games tacked on this season, that is not an excuse for not having this offensive halt figured out.
Preseason is not the regular season, and this team will have it figured out by the start of the 2026-27 campaign. But the elephant in the room is that they cannot put up a respectable amount of offense so far.
The Blues scored 230 goals as a group last season, and that was with a bad year from their former elite goal scorer, Jordan Kyrou. Now, without Kyrou and with McTavish and McMichael, the Blues should finish the 2026-27 season with more goals scored.
At least that is the thought. Preseason does not count for anything at all, but this could become a dangerous trend for this team to have when the real thing begins. Let's all hope that when the players that are supposed to be playing, are playing, that there is a much better result.
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