The St. Louis Blues knew their winning streak had to end, and it happened nearly 24 hours ago against the red-hot Winnipeg Jets. Good. They needed to lose. They needed to face more adversity before they trooped into the NHL Playoffs because we all know the postseason’s coming.
Yeah, they could’ve clinched last night, but I’d rather things have turned out the way they are. Let’s make the Blues keep fighting, keep up the intensity, and remember that on any given night, someone can beat them. For the Blues to suffer a loss for the first time in seemingly forever when the stakes were high, a lot of good is going to come out of this.
For one, the Jets showed the Blues that they need to up the ante a bit. That they can’t get lax, or else their time in the postseason will be short-lived. For another, it gives the Blues something to bounce back from before the stakes reach their pinnacle.
St. Louis Blues needed a reality check and they got one
This was one of those situations in which the Blues would’ve lost had they won. But if they lost, they won. Suppose the Blues won last night. At that point, you got a younger team that just shocked the world and made the playoffs with a few games to spare. It’s a situation I don’t like very much.
No, give me the second option. Don’t let a playoff berth come easily. Make them up the intensity now and work for it. And better yet, make sure they lose against one of the best the NHL has to offer, that way they know what’s coming in the postseason. The Jets were only too happy to do that, and there couldn’t have been a better team in the West to hand the Blues a harsh dose of reality.
This article isn’t going to please everyone, but to be frank, it doesn’t bother me. I know it’s counterintuitive, but if the Blues don’t realize just how much better and more talented the competition is at this stage, they may as well pack up and go home after four games had they clinched last night.
Another scenario just came to mind. Different sport, but whatever…
I’m a big fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the MLB, and in 2023, it seemed like the D-backs forgot how to win toward the end of the regular season. They barely made the playoffs, but once they were in the postseason, they shocked the National League and ended up in the World Series, albeit in a losing effort.
Still, they were among the least-talented squads in the 2023 MLB Playoffs, yet they still went out and looked nearly unstoppable. So, I’d rather see history repeat itself in the NHL. Let the Blues suffer through one (or three) bad games, and let them get it together right at the tail end, sneak into the postseason as the underdog, then play their best brand of hockey.
Sometimes, counterintuitive is a godsend. This isn’t me saying I want to see them throw hockey games, as that would be too risky. But a couple more losses before they make a postseason run would do this team well before the games start to count more than they had in the last three seasons.