Wow, the St. Louis Blues had subjected themselves to some brutal treatment lately, having lost five of their last six and eight of their previous 11. Most recently, their loss to the Carolina Hurricanes showed us just how desperate things were getting in Gateway City as they dropped to 8-10-1 on the season.
Yeah, it’s been beyond bad for the Blues, but it’s still early in the season, so they’re far from out of this. It’s why the team and its fans should welcome the news of Robert Thomas’ return, one that couldn’t have come a moment too late.
While I wouldn’t expect Thomas to steal the show or anything like that, the Blues, who are currently 28th in the NHL with 47 goals scored, need a lot of help. For that help to come in the form of arguably their best playmaker could set what has been an ill-fated season so far back on track.
Before fracturing his ankle, Thomas was enjoying a remarkable season in the Lou, with six points and five assists, 20:33 of average total ice time, and 97 faceoff wins, good for a 62.6 percentage. Yeah, so you can expect the Blues to get a jolt offensively when Thomas is back in the groove.
Robert Thomas’ return could provide a spark for the St. Louis Blues
With Thomas heading back into the lineup, players like Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, Brandon Saad, and Jake Neighbours, to name a few, could cook. And each has fared rather well already this season, with Kyrou leading the team with 16 points, Buchnevich converting 14.7 percent of his shots, Saad 15.4 percent, and Neighbours also at 14.7.
That said, reinserting a forward with playmaking ability and one who’s well-versed with keeping the puck in his team’s possession could end up as a godsend. And credit the entire Blues team, one that is also missing blueliner Philip Broberg, for not allowing this situation to get too out of hand and keeping it manageable.
But there’s still a lot of ground to make up, with division rivals like the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild dominating. Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars are again looking good, and the Colorado Avalanche finally seem to have figured things out.
Currently, the Blues find themselves tied with the Utah Hockey Club with 17 points apiece, two points ahead of the Nashville Predators and four above the Chicago Blackhawks.