American Thanksgiving is this Thursday, which means it's the generally accepted cutoff for which teams are expected to make the postseason, and which teams will be finished playing hockey in April. The St. Louis Blues are hovering around the bottom of the standings, and we've seen them make blistering second-half surges before, but they've dug themselves quite a hole to start the season. The good news is they finished last week with a win against the New York Islanders, so hopefully they can carry that momentum into this week.
With four games this week in a condensed schedule to accommodate Thanksgiving, perhaps the Blues can start climbing out of the basement and into a playoff spot. Let's get into their opponents.
11/24 @ New York Rangers
This Rangers team is impossible to understand. They're 10-11-2 and last in the Metropolitan Division with 22 points, but only four points back from third in the Metro. They're a team that, on paper, should be much better than their record indicates, but they just cannot win at home. On the road, the Rangers are 9-4-1; in Madison Square Garden, they are 1-7-1--that is a ridiculous split! The good news for the Blues is that they're playing in MSG, so maybe they'll get the "home" advantage.
11/26 @ New Jersey Devils
The Devils are in a tough spot: Jack Hughes is going to miss several weeks due to a freak hand injury, and they're missing Brett Pesce (also injured) on the backend. Jacob Markstrom has been lousy since returning from injury (.864 SV%, 3.83 GAA), and career backup Jake Allen (.908 SV%, 2.46 GAA) got lit up by the Philadelphia Flyers over the weekend--playing Allen as a starter runs some serious risks for the Devils. They are 7-0-1 at home, though, so the Blues will have their work cut out for them.
11/28 vs. Ottawa Senators
The 11-6-4 Senators are clinging to a playoff spot as the third-best team in the Atlantic Division. Linus Ullmark has looked far from his Vezina form, posting an .877 SV% and 2.95 GAA. The Sens are also missing their captain, Brady Tkachuk, and look like they're just treading water until he can return. If things go well, the Blues should be able to get a win here.
11/29 vs. Utah Mammoth
Oh, how the mighty have fallen: the Mammoth looked white hot to start the season, but has cooled considerably. They're still 11-8-3 and firmly on the playoff bubble, but are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games. A Central Division rival, this is an absolutely critical game for the Blues if they want to have any hope of turning things around before the calendar flips to December. The Mammoth are 5-2-0 within the division, so it won't be easy for St. Louis (who are 1-3-0 against the Central), but the Blues must start getting wins in these four-point swing games.