The St. Louis Blues have a busy week ahead, with four games on the schedule: two at home and two away.
The big question mark for the week, though, is the status of top-line center Robert Thomas, who left Saturday's game early with an injury. He's been underperforming to start the season, but he's still a pivotal part of the Blues roster. If he misses time, the Blues will have a tough go of it this week. On top of that, the Blues' home woes have only worsened, and two games at home could be trouble as well.
at Pittsburgh Penguins
Everybody had written off the Pittsburgh Penguins before the season even started, and they were right to: the roster is old, underpowered outside of its aging stars, and didn't make any major changes over the summer. Well, at the time of writing, the Penguins are second in the Metropolitan Division--just as we all expected. The Blues have been better on the road, so they have a chance here, but they can't afford to take Pittsburgh lightly.
vs. Detroit Red Wings
Speaking of early-season surprises, the Red Wings are also second in their division, the Atlantic. After years of the Yzerplan and questions surfacing about whether the Wings had the juice to actually be a contender, they've been answering the call so far this season. A home game for the Blues and the second half of a back-to-back, this is going to be a tough game for St. Louis.
vs. Vancouver Canucks
Maybe, just maybe, the Blues have a good chance in this one. The Canucks have struggled out of the gate, and their roster's not all that strong due to numerous injuries up and down the lineup; they're near the bottom of a weak Pacific Division, buoyed only by the fact that the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames are rebuilding teams not expected to win much.
at Columbus Blue Jackets
Another team struggling out of the gate, the Blue Jackets haven't capitalized on the promise of the leap they made last season when they just barely missed the playoffs. The Metropolitan Division isn't the strongest, though, and the Blue Jackets could put themselves right back in contention with a couple of wins. It should be a pretty even back-and-forth game between the Blue Jackets and the Blues, who're fairly evenly matched. The Blues really need to finish this week with some standings points to hold everything together.