After 20 games this season and a lot of losing, it’s safe to say the St. Louis Blues are only going anywhere this season if they embark on an unprecedented winning streak. But that won’t likely happen until they’re fully healthy again, but they can at least make it tough for some division rivals, right?
Well, let’s check out how each of their fellow Central Division rivals is faring right now in this short but fun power ranking. Which teams can the Blues not afford to find themselves in the ‘L’ column against, and who will give (or keep giving) them a tough time?
7 - Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks aren’t a bad hockey team—they’re terrible. And they’re so bad that the Blues could only possibly lose to the Hawks if they played down to them.
6 - Nashville Predators
Dear Doug Armstrong: What Nashville is doing is how you don’t build a team, so you and the other 30 general managers in the NHL should be taking notes. If there is a candidate for “biggest disappointment” in the NHL season, it’s the Preds.
5 - Utah Hockey Club
It’s safe to say the “honeymoon” period is over for the Utah Hockey Club, a talented but middle-of-the-pack team when they string together a few wins. But for a group in its building phase, next season is when we’ll likely see Utah break out and finally enjoy a fun campaign.
4 - Colorado Avalanche
Early-season struggles, particularly at goaltender, had me wondering whether the Avalanche would be that team this season. You know, a group with all the talent in the world, but one terrible player or position group is their kryptonite that would sink their season. It’s not all doom and gloom now, but the Avs have a long way to go. If the Blues can play spoiler later in the year, Colorado might be on the receiving end of it.
3 - Dallas Stars
I thought we’d see the Stars run away with this division alongside the Colorado Avalanche when the season started a month and a half ago. But they’ve since met a pair of challengers, who we’ll talk about next. Unfortunately, the Blues weren’t one of them.
2 - Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a team on a mission, perhaps looking to give Marc-Andre Fleury his best chance to win one more Stanley Cup. While Fleury has played sparingly this season and isn’t the reason they’re so good, we know what kind of lengths a team will go if they want to send one of the best netminders to play the game into retirement on top of the NHL world.
1 - Winnipeg Jets
We’ve seen the Jets play in 19 games this season and it’s more than clear that they’re an improved bunch over what they were last year. If the Blues want to beat the Jets, they better hope they can catch their north-of-the-border rival on a bad night.