The St. Louis Blues continue to scuttle around the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Even though they're only a few points back from a wildcard spot, they've played more games than most teams in the West, which means they're running out of time to make up the gap. They've lost three in a row and are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games, capped off by another second period meltdown against the Vegas Golden Knights and a possible injury to Philip Broberg, fresh off signing his extension.
This week, the Blues have quite the gauntlet ahead of them, welcoming two teams atop both the Metropolitan and Atlantic Divisions, then going on the road to play against arguably the best team in the Pacific Division (a dubious honor, considering how weak the Pacific is). Let's break it down.
vs. the Carolina Hurricanes, 1/13
The top team in the Metropolitan Division has hit some bumps in the last few weeks. At least Jaccob Slavin, the Canes' best defenseman, has returned from injured reserve--but tandem goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is likely done for the season due to injury. Freddie Andersen has been a disaster in net but, as the Canes often do, they found a diamond in the rough in Brandon Bussi to tend the twine. It's the second half of a back-to-back for Carolina, so we'll have to see which of Bussi or Andersen gets the start.
vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, 1/16
Speaking of teams at the top of their game, how about those Bolts? They've been on fire lately, flirting with a double-digit winning streak (they're at nine in a row at time of writing), and they've been doing it all without Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh on the blue line. In the absence of those two, Darren Raddysh has been a revelation for the Tampa defense. This is, arguably, the Blues' toughest matchup of the week.
@ the Edmonton Oilers, 1/18
Connor McDavid cannot be stopped right now. After a slow start (by his standards), he's on pace to crack 120 points this season. What's troubling the Oilers is the same thing that's always given them fits: goaltending. The swap of Stuart Skinner for Tristan Jarry hasn't exactly gone their way, as Jarry's on Long-Term Injured Reserve. Edmonton can score like crazy, but the Blues might be able to take advantage of their weak depth and shaky goaltending. Maybe they'd be a good home for one Blues goalie?