When the St. Louis Blues lost to the Buffalo Sabres, we all knew 2025 was likely to end on a sour note as they headed to Colorado. We just may not have been prepared for how sour.
Everyone, including the players, knew the Colorado Avalanche had only lost two games in regulation. You would assume the Blues would come prepared, right? Not at all.
They allowed four goals in just over four minutes of game time once the first one had gone in, which is the third fastest in league history. St. Louis allowed the first one in the first minute.
St. Louis lost a board battle in the corner and then let Valeri Nichushkin stickhandle across the goal line, recover the puck on the far side of the net, and get a tough-angle shot off for the goal. While you can't say the Blues parted the Red Sea for him, they barely laid a finger on him.
A little over two minutes later, Nathan MacKinnon made it 2-0. Robert Thomas lost the puck in his skates at center ice, turned around, and stickhandled it right into an Avalanche player, and then Colorado hit their captain, who was supposed to be guarded by Thomas, on the backdoor play.
It took only 13 seconds for the Avs to get number three. The Blues were falling all over themselves in front. A Jordan Binnington save went right to Nichushkin on the right, and he knocked it in for a 3-0 score.
Colorado then scored again just moments later. St. Louis challenged the goal and got a break with the successful challenge, but it didn't make a bit of difference since the Avs scored a fourth one at 4:39. MacKinnon got his second when the pass from the slot hit him on the left wing for the one-timer.
The Blues didn't start any better in the second. The Avs got three shots in the first three minutes, including a big glove save by Binnington.
The Avs got their fifth around the midway point. The Blues took a penalty and had done an OK job at killing it until Cale Makar decided to work his magic. The Avs hit Brock Nelson on the right circle twice, and the second time, he got it past Binnington for a 5-0 score. At this point in the game, the Avs had as many goals as the Blues had shots.
St. Louis got a power play shortly after that goal, but didn't even come close to getting a shot on goal. They got another power play with about five minutes left and came close on some backdoor plays, but only got one shot on before the refs made up an interference call on Justin Faulk, who was simply battling with the puck right there.
St. Louis then got called for a trip with eight seconds left in the period. They did manage to kill that off, although I couldn't say how hard the Avalanche were trying.
The Blues nearly ended the shutout on their third power play, but they got stoned on their best chance of the game. St. Louis gave up a partial breakaway with just under six to go, but Binnington came up with a good save.
St. Louis finally broke the shutout at 14:32. Dalibor Dvorsky flung one towards goal from just outside the right circle, and the two-man screen in front made sure it went in to make it 5-1.
The Avs wanted the six-goal lead back and Nichushkin got his hat trick with around four minutes left. Yet again, Binnington made an initial save, but nobody put a body on Nichushkin, who outwaited the prone St. Louis goaltender.
6-1 would be the final, and the Blues may have lost Thomas too, who picked up some sort of leg injury late. He stayed on the bench to finish the last couple of minutes, but at this point, it may not even matter.
Con: Power play
Colorado has the league's best penalty kill, so I didn't expect much against it. But the problems the Blues have are that they're not just bad, but predictable.
Robert Thomas is literally the only guy who will skate the puck in. Everyone else just skates up to the blue line and waits, which makes defending things rather easy.
When the Blues do gain the zone, they're not even trying to set up shots. You can tell their plan is to attempt to force something to the bumper position, or maybe go back door. Even if the Avs didn't have the best PK, St. Louis makes it so easy to defend because someone who never played the game at a high level can see exactly what they're trying to do.
They don't change anything or change personnel. At this point, why not try something outside the box, like using Parayko on the PP or letting someone else carry it in? If Thomas is truly the only one allowed, or brave enough, to enter the zone with the puck on his stick, the Blues are in a lot of trouble.
Pro: Binnington
People will close out of this article right about this point, but the truth is, this game was only 6-1 because of the Blues' goaltender. St. Louis gave him absolutely no help, and he still kept it lower than it should have been.
Colorado could've easily had six goals in the first period alone. There was nothing Binner could do on any of the goals, no matter what any hater will tell you. St. Louis just let players skate right across his crease, and Binnington did his best to stay strong.
He made some good saves, especially considering the Avs had 43 shots and nearly twice as many attempts. Frankly, at times during this game, it felt like he was the only one trying.
Con: Thomas
I really try not to single out individuals when the entire team stinks. However, Thomas was not good in this game.
He was a minus-2 and responsible for one of the goals. He simply looked lost handling the puck at center ice prior to the turnover. The pass did not set him up for success, but you'd like your top playmaker to know how to get out of that scenario.
It showcased his entire season. I'm not sure if he's injured and playing through it or if he's just a headcase this year, but the body language is horrible.
Thomas is constantly exasperated and shows it. It shows in his attitude and his play.
Overview:
We all kind of knew the Blues would likely get blown out in this one, but when it came to pass, it was no less embarrassing. Colorado is an amazing team, but when there is basically zero resistance, it does not represent the franchise well.
Once the Blues calmed down, they played alright considering the opponent, but that's not high praise. They still looked much closer to being one of the worst teams in the league rather than a playoff contender.
It's easy to say you're playing the best team in the league, but 13 shots on goal is pathetic. You have four in the first and three in the second. The Blues did have six in the third, but the Avs were basically already drinking their postgame beers by then.
I don't buy into this nonsense you read online about guys not caring. If anything, they probably care too much, and it's affecting their psyche.
But when you have guys on the local broadcast literally asking if it's heart, that's a giant issue. There are veterans on this team that have won before, and young players that will be good players in this league in years to come. For there to be this large a teamwide issue is simply unacceptable.