Well, that did not go according to plan. The St. Louis Blues did not follow up their successful 2024-25 season with a happy start to the 2025-26 season, losing to the Minnesota Wild by a wide margin, 5-0.
The Enterprise Center was rocking, and the new visuals from the rebrand were on full display around the arena. On the ice, however, was not a new Blues team that was hungry to win. It was a Wild club, fresh off signing one of their star players to the biggest contract in NHL history, that was ready to start their season with a bang.
What went wrong, and what can you ultimately take away from this terrible loss?
The stat sheet paints a different picture
Looking up and down the stat sheet after this game, and you could argue that it should have gone 5-0 the other way. It was a sound first game for most of the team, with some highlights thrown in there along the way.
Jordan Kyrou got off to a good start, with a Corsi% of 71.43%, and his line of captain Brayden Schenn and Dylan Holloway had a xGoals% of 77.1%, the second-highest of the four lines.
The fourth line as a whole looked solid, with newcomer Nick Bjugstad having the biggest impact of the three newcomers. Both Logan Mailloux and Pius Suter were good, but it was not a fantastic start to the Blues tenure.
Binnington to blame?
If you had to label a player to blame for losing 5-0, this game would have a slight tie. Goaltender Jordan Binnington was not stellar, but it also was not entirely his fault. Of those five goals, they were all stoppable pucks, to a degree, but there was also a fair amount of puck luck involved. After being a player to watch for before the game, he certainly was not a player to watch as the game progressed.
Plus, you have to chalk it up to the Wild having a stellar team, and a team that came into tonight's game prepared. They were ready to do battle, but the Blues did not seem like they were ready at all.
Binnington allowed five goals on 21 shots faced on the night. His xGoals Against was a 2.6, leaving him with a -2.4 goals saved above expected. Not a great start for the franchise goaltender, and that could lead to a bit of a conversation as to whether he needs a reset against the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon, and allow Joel Hofer a shot.
Where do they go from here?
There is really only one way the Blues can go from here, which is up. This is about as bad a loss as they can possibly have. The Wild put their feet on their throats and did not let up until the final horn blew.
The Blues have some adjustments to be made, likely with right winger Jimmy Snuggerud moving down in the lineup, and it would not be a surprise if Pavel Buchnevich does as well for a switcheroo with Jordan Kyrou and Dylan Holloway. Leaving Robert Thomas to man the middle of No.81 and No.25.
Between now and Saturday afternoon, there is going to be some changes.