Conventional wisdom suggests that NHL teams have until Thanksgiving to determine if they’ll make the playoffs. That’s the runway the St. Louis Blues are looking at.
After a fantastic 4-0 shutout win over the Dallas Stars in their season opener, the Blues haven’t exactly torn up the league.
The Blues hit a thud with a 6-1 pounding at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche. Since then, the club dropped a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks and a 3-2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks. Barring the awful game against Colorado, the Blues haven’t been bad. But they haven’t been good either.
And that’s why the next month or so should determine where the Blues will be trending this season.
The expectation is that the Blues can return to the playoffs after making it two seasons ago. However, the lineup has changed significantly. Yes, there is some talent there. But the bottom line is that the team cannot afford to let any more points get away.
Blues looking at mix and match of contenders and pretenders
There are no easy games in the NHL. But there are some that are more winnable than others. That’s what the Blues need to capitalize on moving forward.
St. Louis will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, and then the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Those should be two winnable games despite facing tough opponents.
The road from there gets considerable tougher.
The Blues will have games coming up against Minnesota, Nashville, Winnipeg, Vegas, Carolina, and Montreal. Those are six games that could make or break the Blues' early season.
The hope will be that the club can pull out several wins. And yes, that’s entirely doable. But you also have to think that beating the defending Stanley Cup champions, along with Vegas, which made the Final last season, and Montreal, which went to the Eastern Conference Final, well, that’s not an easy road ahead.
That’s why they’ll be major tests. If the Blues can pass them, the outlook on the season should change dramatically.
Injuries playing a key role in determining St. Louis’ path forward
Injuries have already begun to creep up on the Blues. They started the season with defensemen Logan Mailloux and Tyler Tucker on the shelf. The club then lost Alexei Toropchenko, followed most recently by Dillon Dube.
Those are four regular lineup players who have left holes in the team. Assuming that no other major injuries happen, the Blues should be able to weather the storm.
But should a massive injury befall the club, the prospect could certainly change moving forward.
Let’s see what happens. Everything begins with Saturday against Columbus. Two points will go a long way towards getting back on track.
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