The St. Louis Blues are having a complete shutdown at the moment, on one of the worst five-game losing streaks you can witness. Goaltending is atrocious, the defense is to blame and the offense just cannot keep up.
There are more than three players that need to step up in this game on Thursday night hosting the Vancouver Canucks at the Enterprise Center. But, without these three, specifically, the Blues have no chance of winning.
Jordan Binnington
It all begins and ends with the goaltending. The Blues goaltending has been horrific to start the year, with Jordan Binnington and backup Joel Hofer not being able to get into a groove to start the season. Of the two goaltenders, Binnington has been the better, but it is not anything to write home about.
Although not confirmed, it will likely be Binnington getting the go in this one.
Against the Canucks, who were just shut out by the New York Rangers during the Frozen Frenzy the other night, Binnington is going to have to be very sharp. Elias Petterson and Connor Garland are both very lethal offensive threats, and this defense is not clicking a the moment.
Brayden Schenn
The only Blues leader who can save this team from the brink of destruction is captain Brayden Schenn. There is a vibe with this team that the underwhelming performances are starting to take a toll on the players, and the fans waning faith in this team has been felt. Schenn commented on that following the 5-2 loss to Detroit on Tuesday.
"Obviously the fans, they can be as frustrated at us as they want and they have every right to because at the end of the day, we're not getting the job done and right now our job is to find a way, " Schenn said. "We can't look big picture right now. We’ve got to find a way to get one win and play for the guy next to you and buckle down and build a little inner confidence for yourself and for the team.”
This team is floundering, and there has to be a showing of a revival here. Five straight losses, allowing five goals or more in the last four games, the only player with the right to stand up in that locker room and start pointing fingers and motivating this team is Schenn. It is on him to being this team to life.
Colton Parayko
On the other side of the leadership coin, Colton Parayko also must stand up and speak for his teammates. The blueline has been nothing more than a free toll for the opposition to pass through with ease this season. Part of why the goaltending has been so bad is because of the lackluster play from the defense.
Parayko has to play like himself to make this right. At the moment, all three pairings are equally as bad, and Parayko has to at least try and secure the top-pairing's success. If he can give the Blues 24+ minutes a night of solid play, that will close the gap ever so slightly.