The St. Louis Blues lost 3-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night. It was a fantastic loss, with a competitive final 15 minutes or so from the Blues to try and stage the comeback. It did not happen, but there are some good things to take away from it.
One of those key takeaways was the solid play from backup goaltender Joel Hofer. This season has not been kind to the recently re-signed netminder, which has really been the trend for Jordan Binnington as well.
Hofer allowed three goals on 35 shots, which has been leagues better than his last few starts. Has he returned to his usual self with a hard reset against the Blue Jackets?
Back to normal
The entire Blues team played much like themselves in the 60 minutes of play against Columbus. They tied their season-high in shots on goal with 39, found themselves playing their usual physical game and winning in that department with 21 hits, and were excellent from the face-off dot, winning 55.4% of the draws for the game.
Of course, Hofer did not play a perfect game, but it was a performance that kept his team in it. If Jet Greaves does not have a near-flawless game on the other end of the ice, the Blues would have snapped their seven-game losing streak. As it stands, if Hofer can build off of this game, the past failures might remain there.
The season is still very young, and there is a lot of time for the Blues to turn this thing around. With the hope that Hofer can return to normal, it makes it easier for Binnington to get the rest he needs. The Blues season is not dead in the water yet.