At first glance, the St. Louis Blues' East Coast road trip has not gotten off to a good start. They have lost the first two games to the Maple Leafs and Flyers, extending their losing streak to four games. However, both of these losses came in overtime, earning the Blues two points. This should give Blues fans some confidence in the rest of the road trip. They were able to play two competitive games against teams that could be fighting for a playoff spot.
This should give the Blues the confidence to compete with everyone. It should at least be enough to fuel them for the rest of this road trip. A strong performance on this road trip could be enough to get the Blues back in the playoff race and live up to expectations. But what would the Blues have to do to consider this road trip a success?
In order to label this road trip a success, these things need to happen
The next three games on this road trip will be no easy task for the Blues. On Saturday, they will travel to Long Island to take on the red-hot Islanders. They have won six of their last seven games and are currently third in the Metro. Then, on Monday, they will take a short trip to MSG to face the Rangers. While they have not looked great this season, with the amount of talent on the roster, it won't be easy. They will close the trip out against the Devils, who are currently having the fourth-most points in the NHL.
In order for the Blues to consider this trip a success they are going to have take at least two of the next three games. This put their record on the trip at 2-1-2 and will give them six points on the road out of a possible ten. This will also increase their point total to 22 points, and depending on how the rest of the division does could put them back in the playoff hunt. This is the type of performance that can save the season and have them start to play back to expectations.
It would also be a successful trip if some of the players who are struggling are able to break out. Several players, including Pavel Buchnevich, Brayden Schenn, and Pius Suter, have been struggling over the past few games. Their struggles are part of the reason that the Blues have been inconsistent so far this season. So if they can get going over the next three games, it'll help the Blues close out more games and win those they had previously lost.
While this will not be an easy task, the Blues have a golden opportunity to prove they still have a chance this season. Being able to say they had a successful East Coast road trip will earn them some attention and give them confidence that they can play with the best. It's now time to show the Blues can do it.