The St. Louis Blues were dealing with plenty of emotions after the 2026 trade deadline. The Blues sent away their captain and one of their top defenders and although they got decent returns, they didn't have that immediate boost of someone new joining the locker room.
So, it would've been understandable if there was a downer of a game with the Blues playing the San Jose Sharks. While it wasn't the complete opposite of that, St. Louis at least got off to an ok start.
Despite only getting three shots all period long, the Blues managed to score the first goal of the game. St. Louis took advantage after a turnover as they found Jimmy Snuggerud on the left circle and he snapped it through the legs of the defender and past the goalie to make it 1-0.
The Sharks pushed quite a bit in the first and even the second. Jordan Binnington was on his game, making several quality saves, including a big glove save on Macklin Celebrini.
Meanwhile, the Blues were getting outshot badly through the first half of the game, yet they never really fealt outmatched. They would have a shift or two where the Sharks would get a solid push or long zone time, but overall it just didn't seem like they were being outplayed even if the stats suggested otherwide.
The Blues luck would run out at 14:31 of the second. Despite the fact that they had done a good job of defending and killed off a San Jose power play, the Sharks found Celebrini with a small window of space on the right circle and he fired one past the blocker to tie the game.
Luckily, in spite of the lack of actual shots on goal, the Blues regained the lead about three minutes later. Robert Thomas kept his scoring streak alive with a snapshot from the middle, finishing off a great pass from Snuggerud on the corner.
The Blues were doing a good job of holding on through the first half of the third period. They were playing smart hockey, chipping pucks out and not getting caught out on the ice for too long. Binnington was making some key saves too.
Unfortunately, despite plenty of heroics in the middle part of the period, Binnington couldn't keep them all out. The Sharks went from below the goal line to Kiefer Sherwood on the right circle and he exploded a shot under Binner's blocker for another tie.
Although it wasn't the best to watch and the crowd in San Jose booed several times, the Blues played for overtime and got the point. While it is definitely boring, it was good to see the Blues implement a game plan and execute it, unlike earlier in the season where they would panic and allow a late, game--winning goal.
St. Louis managed to turn things around early in the overtime period. Despite losing the faceoff, the Blues quickly got a turnover and held the puck for most of the extra frame.
Dylan Holloway created a turvnover in the zone and then the Blues cycled around in the zone, without leaving it. As of writing this article, the Blues won the game as Philip Brober hit one off the post and the rebound went in off Thomas. There were questions whether Broberg's shot may have gone in, but I had to go to bed if they decided to change it later. Regardless, the Blues won 3-2.
Cons: Two-on-ones
For as few shots as the Blues had for much of the game, it wasn't as though they didn't have chances. In reality, they had some quality chances.
St. Louis had two two-on-ones pretty early in the second period. Robert Thomas nearly had his first goal earlier in the game, but he got denied on a pad save and then a glove save on the rebound.
St. Louis also had an odd-man rush in the third period with Pius Suter and Jake Neighbours. They never even got a shot as they couldn't get it to materialize.
It's good that St. Louis was finding transition opportunities, but the lack of finishing continues to be a worry for this team.
Pro: Logan Mailloux
While the kid has been put through the ringer online, he weathered the storm and we're starting to see confidence build and also see the player the Blues hoped he could be.
While the offense didn't show through in terms of actual goals, he is still much more engaged and confident. There were a couple times early in the game where he was below the goal line in a positive way.
What was even better to see was his defensive anticipation. He cut out at least three key passes that disrupted potential scoring plays for the Sharks. These weren't just random sticks in the way, but him snuffing out plays before they could happen.
Pro: Overtime
As much as I hate thee-on-three overtime, the reality is that it requires teams to play a certain way to win. The Blues played that way and played it well.
Other than a turnover in the offensive zone, the Blues didn't have any mistakes. They outworked the Sharks, regained the puck after that turnover, caused a turnover shortly after losing the faceoff and then just bided their time until they got the scoring play.
Overview:
This win showcased how weird this team has been all year, even if on the positive side. Go figure that the team that only had five defensemen and had just traded two of their biggest veteran names ended up finally winning three games in a row.
It only took them 62 games to finally string together an actual win streak. Better late than never, I suppose.
What was good to see from this game was the team showed mental strength and resilience. Anyone that has a heart knows it was tough for these guys to lose favored teammates in Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk.
They got through those first few minutes, weathered the Sharks' storm and then scored themselves. Instead of just being a matador and letting San Jose just fly by, they fought through everything.
Other than the goal he scored, Celebrini was held in check. When he was able to get space, the Blues had Binnington there to make the big saves.
It's hard to figure out how to put a framework around this game. Winning is always fun and when the Blues actually win instead of just not lose, it's even better.
However, it's hard to not wonder why they couldn't play this hard all season long. St. Louis fans are pretty lenient about loses if you're still playing hard.
The Blues weren't great, but they played hard against the Sharks. When they could sense a wave coming, they would just release some of the pressure without looking overwhelmed. It was just simple, smart hockey.
The Blues have now won three in a row and four of five. Who knows. Maybe they will be better with some veterans gone. Time will tell about that, but any positive trends are much better than the alternative.