According to Money Puck, the St. Louis Blues have a 7.4 percent chance of making the playoffs this season. Despite a recent hot streak, their lackluster 30-30-11 record doesn't inspire much confidence that they'll be able to move into a wildcard position by Game 82, nor do much in the postseason if they were to somehow make it. For now, they should be playing for better lottery odds for a premium draft pick; there's not much to cheer for.
However, the Blues also have an unprotected first-round pick, courtesy of the Detroit Red Wings as part of the return for defenseman Justin Faulk at the trade deadline earlier this month. The Wings were, at the time, in a playoff position, and adding a veteran defenseman seemed like a sensible thing to do. Now, however, the Wings are three points back of a wildcard spot in an extremely tight Eastern Conference, and they could end up back in the draft lottery. In the 11 games the Red Wings have left to play, they match up against one team three times: the Philadelphia Flyers.
Now, we're not suggesting you give up your allegiance to the Blues and become Flyers fans for the next couple weeks. However, if the Flyers manage to beat the Red Wings three times, they will almost assuredly miss out on the playoffs, granting the Blues a pick in the teens or--with a little lottery luck--up at the top of the draft in June. Talk about kicking off the retool with a bang!
The Flyers are a fun team, too, with a lot of young players worth watching--especially puck wizard Trevor Zegras, and Owen Tippett has been a machine lately. There's history between the Blues and Flyers as well, as they've frequently been trade partners in the past, even if some of those trades never ended up happening. He may've been moved at the deadline, but the Blues' former captain, Brayden Schenn, spent six seasons in Philadelphia.
Like the Blues, the Flyers are a bit of a longshot to make the playoffs, too, with odds at 12.6 percent on Money Puck and five points back of either a wildcard spot or third place in the Metropolitan Division. Still, as the Blues play out the stretch, keep an eye on what the Flyers are up to, especially when they play the Red Wings (their first of three matchups is on Saturday)--they could just incidentally help the Blues out.