Tarasenko to have shoulder surgery again, be re-evaluated in five months

Third surgery required on left shoulder, which was injured early last season, 

forced Blues right wing to miss 61 games before returning in playoffs

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The news wasn't good from Doug Armstrong concerning right wing Vladimir Tarasenko.

In fact, it was a worst-case scenario, one that was repeated nearly a year ago, and the words seem almost repetitive, but Tarasenko is projected to go under the knife again to repair his left shoulder again.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) will have shoulder surgery again

next week after MRI revealed surgery last October wasn't done properly. 

Armstrong announced that Tarasenko, who dislocated his left shoulder Oct. 24, 2019 and had surgery five days later, will again have surgery on the same shoulder for the third time in his career sometime next week and be re-evaluated in five months and is likely to miss the start of the 2020-21 season.

There's always the chance Tarasenko gets a second and even third opinion before going under the knife but nevertheless, the previous procedure didn't get the job done properly.

Tarasenko, who was originally slated to return in March before the NHL paused its regular season because of COVID-19, went through a vigorous rehab process and got himself prepared to go during the NHL's Return to Play Plan.

Tarasenko played in five games in Edmonton, two round-robin games, an exhibition game and Games 1-2 of the first round series against the Vancouver Canucks but missed the final three games because he was "unfit to play." The Blues sent him back to St. Louis last week to have an MRI on the shoulder.

"It was obviously very limited," Armstrong said of Tarasenko's play in Edmonton, which yielded no points. "He had shoulder surgery obviously at the start of the season. He rehabbed, he came back, we had to do another MRI. He wasn't feeling good. That surgery didn't take the way we had hoped. It wasn't successful. He's going to go back in and have more surgery next week and it's serious in the sense that he won't be with us and he won't be re-evaluated for five months after the date of surgery.

"It's certainly not a positive that we're going through right now. It's his third surgery. We just know that he prepares and trains hard and he needs to get back and play well for us, but yeah, it's a concern in the sense that he's going to have three surgeries."

Tarasenko was injured against the Los Angeles Kings in the Blues' 10th game of the regular season and missed the remaining 61 games. He posted on his Instagram account Wednesday afternoon that he vows to come back again:

"Last few months, I felt like something (was) wrong," Tarasenko wrote, "but still (tried to play. Then we found out what it is when I get back home from the bubble. To take some speculations away, no, I'm not done, career is not done. There was a problem which (was) found finally, so I'm more motivated (than) ever to finally get healthy and play. I hope and believe that doctors will do their job, fix the problem and there is the solution for that, so can't wait to to get it done and start working on coming back, playing hockey, score goals and enjoy the game again!" 

There has to be some concern though that Tarasenko, 28, is having a third major surgery on the same shoulder he injured on the final game of the 2016-17 regular-season at Colorado.

"It's the third surgery," Armstrong said. "We're hoping he gets back to the level that he was at before. I'm not concerned about the work ethic and the approach he's going to take to put himself in a great spot, but time is going to tell on how quickly and the impact he can have when he gets back. I think he can have the same impact as before, but it's really irrelevant what I think or what I feel. It's going to be how he does when he gets back."

The Blues were able to finish the regular season first in the Western Conference even with Tarasenko, who had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 10 games, missing 61 of 71 games, so don't expect Armstrong to go searching for a goal scorer for a cap-strapped squad.

"Scoring wasn't an issue for us last season," Armstrong said. "Having Vladi in our lineup makes us a better team. So no, I don't think we're going to try and go out and replace Vladi with another Vladi. We all know what the salary cap situation is. Jordan Kyrou has to come back and be given an opportunity to have an impact on our team and he has to take  that opportunity and run with it, so I think there's internal players that are going to come back again. When you look at our roster and you look what we have moving forward, a lot of guys from last year's team, we only have two restricted players in (Vince) Dunn and (Jacob) de la Rose and one unrestricted in Alex Pietrangelo, the core group that had 70 games for the majority are under contract."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Vladimir Tarasenko (91) was able to play in four playoff games for the Blues

after having shoulder surgery last October. He will have surgery again and

will be re-evaluated in five months.

In the meantime, when the Blues do reconvene for training camp, they'll have to once again play without their top goal scorer.

"Well, he can score big goals, and that's what he does," Blues coach Craig Berube said of Tarasenko. "He's a big goal scorer. He can score at any time of a game. It's important to have a guy like that. He's a leader on our team too. He wears an 'A.' He's missed for sure. Like I said, he's a big part of our team and always has been. He needs to get healthy and we need him back."

Pietrangelo has plenty to ponder, including legacy, with free agency looming

Blues captain will be unrestricted free agent one week after 

Stanley Cup Final if he doesn't resign with team that drafted him in 2008

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Players never typically get involved when it comes to other players' business matters. They don't feel it's their place to do so, but David Perron took a stab at it when asked to make a pitch on why the Blues should keep close friend Alex Pietrangelo and what would it be.

"Just so he can buy more houses in St. Louis. The guy might as well be a realtor," Perron joked. "He loves going around town and thinking he can look at different places."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues defenseman and captain Alex Pietrangelo (right) defends a play

earlier in the season against the New York Islanders and Derick Brassard.

So ... if someone happens to see Pietrangelo in a neighborhood near you, and he's critiquing your property, don't be surprised.

"My dad did it and still does a little bit of that on the side, so I enjoy it," Pietrangelo said. "It's just kind of something I enjoy doing. 

"Tell David that he can come pick up his suitcase anytime he wants because it's sitting in my garage. He might want to make fun of me, but I don't feel like hoarding his stuff any longer."

And the story to this is?

"He went home (to Quebec) to get his wife and his kids, so for some reason, I offered to take (Perron's suitcase) home because we were neighbors in the hotel," Pietrangelo said. "I was just the easy person to grab it and we live close to each other. Maybe I'll open it up and see what he's got in there to see if he's got anything good."

And this is the kind of friendship Pietrangelo has with not only Perron, but many on the roster. It's the kind of culture the Blues have built up, and close relationships are all part of it.

That's why when the subject comes up of staying or going for Pietrangelo, a pending unrestricted free agent, the Blues captain the past four years and player the past 10 full seasons (12 in all) in St. Louis says all the right things but knows there are no guarantees.

"Obviously, I want to stay a Blue. Of course I do," Pietrangelo said. "It's the only place I've known in professional hockey.

"All that (friendships includes) factors in. Ask any of my teammates how close I am with my family, not just my immediate family. I've got sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws, nieces and nephews (here). All that's stuff's important to me, but then again, they understand the business side of things and the situation that we're in. Look, if this decision was something that we weren't thinking hard about, we wouldn't be in this spot. I give my wife (Jayne) credit too for really allowing me to think hard about this because there's a lot of things that need to be taken into consideration here moving forward. It's not a fun thing to go through, it's not easy, but again, when you have a solid base at home, I've got my wife and my kids and my wife supports everything that I do, it makes the process a little bit easier because you can take your time, sit back and evaluate everything that needs to be evaluated to make the right decision."

Imagine Pietrangelo, who completed a seven-year, $45.5 million ($6.5 million average annual value) contract signed Sept. 13, 2013, putting on another jersey just doesn't seem right, but with the Blues having little cap space and the 30-year-old due a raise and potentially looking at his last lengthy and financially large contract, the possibility seems real.

Pietrangelo, who helped the Blues win their first Stanley Cup in 2019, has 450 points (109 goals, 341 assists) in 758 regular-season games and 51 points (eight goals, 43 assists) in 92 Stanley Cup Playoff games, could follow in a similar path of David Backes, who left via free agency after the 2015-16 season as captain and signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins.

But if Perron, Pietrangelo's teammate since Pietrangelo was drafted fourth overall by the Blues in 2008, can offer some advice to his close friend, the grass isn't always greener on the other side, nor is the right fit.

"For my own perspective, all I can tell is obviously you go into other places and sometimes it doesn't always play out the way you'd like," Perron said. "Maybe you think it's a perfect situation and it doesn't turn out to be. Even coming back to St. Louis for me, I'm sure there's some fans that weren't sure of David Perron for a third time, but it's went pretty good so far. You just try to make the best of it every place you go. I went to Pittsburgh and thought that maybe it was going to be the best situation in my career and probably was the one I enjoyed the least. Maybe with Edmonton with the way we were losing there just because the way it turned out. I couldn't find my game there. It's very hard. Petro's our leader, probably our best player most nights with (Ryan) O'Reilly. The way he played this year with this whole situation was extremely impressive. We play our whole careers to win the Cup. I think he wants to feel like he's respected. He wants to feel like he gets his share of things. I think he deserves it too.

"I think they obviously love St. Louis, Jayne is from St. Louis. I don't think there's a doubt that he would like to stay. I'm honestly going to just stay out of it, to be honest with you."

The question that looms is what does Pietrangelo want and how much does he want? Does any of that matter right at this moment since free agency does not begin until one week after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final? Does it really matter after the craziness of this entire season, in which free agency was supposed to start on July 1?

"I mean look, me and my wife, we continue to talk about it," Pietrangelo said. "There are obviously conversations that have to be had between each other. Is there much to talk about? No, the situation is what it is. The off-season is going to come quicker than we know it. We're having those discussions between us. The best part about me is I have a distraction. I have these (three) kids here (and one on the way in September) and they can kind of keep me busy and keep my mind off it. Really, I haven't given it a whole lot of thought lately, or not much. Just trying to soak all this in after being gone for so long."

How about the fact that when all is said and done, Pietrangelo, should be decide to stay and all but play his entire career here, have a statue outside Enterprise Center right there with Bernie Federko, Al MacInnis and Brett Hull? What would it mean to have No. 27 retired up in the rafters with the aforementioned three, Bob Bassoff, Bob and Barclay Plager and Brian Sutter?

"Legacy is obviously important," Pietrangelo said. "This organization means a lot to me. You see Al come around, you see all the other alumni who are around regularly. That means a lot, right? It's guys who have a great relationship with the organization that have been around and have set their roots in St. Louis. But whether it's here or somewhere else, you want to play to the best of your ability and leave a legacy wherever you are. That goes along with on the ice and off the ice and try to impact the organization in the community. So whether it's here or anywhere else, I think it's important for me to really kind of set my roots wherever it is and I know my wife feels the same way."

And think, when Pietrangelo retires one day down the road, to be able to bring Evelyn, Oliver and Theodore down to where their dad played when they know better will mean plenty. But Pietrangelo knows he'll need to do more in order for that to happen.

"I think I need to accomplish more in order to get that, but for me personally, of course it matters," Pietrangelo said. "If we do come back to St. Louis or we stay in St. Louis, whatever it is, I know my wife would like to come back. You know what it's like marrying a girl from St. Louis, right? You're going to end up retiring here. Let's call it what it is. I think being able to take my kids down to games and they see that stuff would obviously be important to me. That always goes back to what you said, I'm always thinking about my family and what I can show my kids. That would obviously be something that would be special for sure."

Blues fans just hope that the lasting picture of Perron and Pietrangelo, with Perron's arm around his friend after the Blues were eliminated in Game 6 against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, isn't the last time Pietrangelo dons the Bluenote.

"Yeah, it's very hard. I've seen this picture flow around," Perron said. "I didn't do that thinking there was going to be pictures taken, but I could tell Petro was feeling it pretty good there. He was pretty choked (up) to be honest with you. It got me choked up a little bit too. Even thinking about it right now talking about it, I really hope he's going to be around I'm really good friends with him and his family. We've played a long time together now and we're always going to be close, regardless of what happens, but there's a business side of things here that could alter things maybe, I don't know, I don't want to get into that because it's not really my thing. That's his and the team and I don't know too much about the situation other than I really support him. I support him for anything he's going to choose to do. That's really my comments on that, but yeah that picture, I just kind of felt like he was thinking maybe it could be his last moments or not as a Blue. I just felt that I had to be there for him."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Did David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo (left) walk off together as teammates

of the Blues for the final time last Friday? 

"I remember the moment," Pietrangelo said. "I guess when the game's over and I'm thinking the situation that I'm in, I know David and I are really close friends. I appreciated it. I think he understood when I was thinking at the time. I don't know, it might be the last time I wear the jersey and last time I play with him too. For him and I, we're close friends, we've been through a lot together, played a long time together. That's what friends and obviously he knows I think the world of him. I appreciated that. That's why you have friends and teammates that kind of helps you through things. I definitely appreciated it. 

"... I hope it doesn't get to that point. I grew up here. This is the only place I know professionally. Family's here, I grew up here. Grew up here as a player and as a person. It's part of the business unfortunately and the situation is what it is, but hopefully that circumstance doesn't happen and we'll see where this thing takes us."

Blues right wing David Perron

By LOU KORAC
Like a fine wine, David Perron just keeps getting better with age.

The veteran Blues forward, in his third tour of duty playing for the team that drafted him 26th overall in the 2007 NHL Draft, produced the most points (60) in his nine seasons with the Blues and second-most of his career behind the 66 he had with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18. 

Blues right wing David Perron (57)

Perron's 25 goals were just three off matching his career-high of 28 accomplished with the Edmonton Oilers in 2013-14 and matched the season-high for the Blues this season with Brayden Schenn.

Perron has thrived playing on a line with Ryan O'Reilly (and quite frankly, who wouldn't?) and took advantage of working on the top power play unit in the absence of Vladimir Tarasenko, who missed most of the season with a dislocated left shoulder.

But Perron, 32, was one of the outspoken players and certainly voiced his disappointment when the Blues, looking to defend their Stanley Cup of 2019, were bounced out of the first round of the playoffs by the Vancouver Canucks in six games.

Here are Perron's comments on why things didn't click for the Blues in Edmonton, his friendship with Alex Pietrangelo and why the Blues should bring the pending unrestricted free agent back, his displeasure for the round-robin setup, the Blues' window for winning another Cup and more:

Why didn't things didn't click in Edmonton?
To be honest with you, it's still pretty fresh. I watched the first two periods of that game yesterday, Vegas-Vancouver, and turned it off. Still kind of opened up the wound again. I was disappointed that we lost and I feel like we should have won that series. There's things that I said that I still believe. You see the energy that Vegas (has) got right now. They can go through anything if they keep that up. It's pretty unique, it's pretty special to see that. It is a tough time to maybe get yourself going at times. Maybe some guys felt that way, I'm not exactly sure, but you've got to find a way. You've got to do it within the group, on the bench and not wait for anything else on the outside because obviously there's no crowd, there's no nothing. The pressure of the games is a lot different than usual. There's not much, to be honest with you, when you go into a game normally on the road. In Winnipeg, let's say you know how hard it's going to be. The crowd's going to get on top of you, you've got to manage all that. This one, you've just got to go out and play. We didn't do a good enough job to manage that part.

On momentum and energy, how you get that?
Certain guys probably thrive on fans a lot more I think. I thought I did too, but I felt pretty good out there. I don't know, I think it's up to each individual to get yourself ready, not only this whole time when we were off to train as hard as we can so you're ready whenever we're going to start, it was sharp to stay mentally. You never know when it was going to last two weeks, three weeks, a month, and after three months, maybe it was just going to be cancelled. So I'm not sure how each guy managed that throughout the league. But you can tell that some teams, their guys as individuals got really prepared. I don't know if we lacked in that department or not, but it was evident from the first three games that we didn't grab our game the way we needed to to have success there.  

On arm around Pietrangelo after last game in a picture, how tough are feelings when leaving the organization?
Yeah, it's very hard. I've seen this picture flow around. I didn't do that thinking there was going to be pictures taken, but I could tell Petro was feeling it pretty good there. He was pretty choked (up) to be honest with you. It got me choked up a little bit too. Even thinking about it right now talking about it, I really hope he's going to be around I'm really good friends with him and his family. We've played a long time together now and we're always going to be close, regardless of what happens, but there's a business side of things here that could alter things maybe, I don't know, I don't want to get into that because it's not really my thing. That's his and the team and I don't know too much about the situation other than I really support him. I support him for anything he's going to choose to do. That's really my comments on that, but yeah that picture, I just kind of felt like he was thinking maybe it could be his last moments or not as a Blue. I just felt that I had to be there for him.

Without playing GM, if you had a say, what would be your pitch to keep Pietrangelo here in STL?
Just so he can buy more houses in St. Louis. The guy might as well be a realtor. He loves going around town and thinking he can look at different places. I think they obviously love St. Louis, Jayne is from St. Louis. I don't think there's a doubt that he would like to stay. I'm honestly going to just stay out of it, to be honest with you. For my own perspective, all I can tell is obviously you go into other places and sometimes it doesn't always play out the way you'd like. Maybe you think it's a perfect situation and it doesn't turn out to be. Even coming back to St. Louis for me, I'm sure there's some fans that weren't sure of David Perron (for a) third time, but it's went pretty good so far. You just try to make the best of it every place you go. I went to Pittsburgh and thought that maybe it was going to be the best situation for my career and probably was the one I enjoyed the least. Maybe with Edmonton with the way we were losing there just because the way it turned out. I couldn't find my game there. It's very hard. Petro's our leader, probably our best player most nights with O'Reilly. The way he played this year with this whole situation was extremely impressive. We play our whole careers to win the Cup. I think he wants to feel like he's respected. He wants to feel like he gets his share of things. I think he deserves it too.

How was the homecoming?
I wasn't sure to be honest with you. It went so quick. I can't believe I was able to make a quick decision like that. I was still hoping we were going to play and my parents were going to drive down the family. Mason, our five-year-old son starts school in St. Louis this week at some point, maybe Monday. They're really good with us. It's his first year, so maybe they're going to let us (wait) until next Monday while I sort things out. Now that we lost, I kind of made a quick decision to fly home the next day and just get back here really. As you can tell, I'm in the car right now just getting some stuff at the grocery (store), just trying to get packed up so we can drive down with the whole family and I'll be basically in St. Louis the whole time. There's a couple things hockey-related that I have to take care of too injury-wise, maybe just to get some check-up on things that were nagging, even through this whole thing. So hopefully it turns out good.

What was it like to see family after a month away?
Yeah, it's tough. Obviously they had to sacrifice a lot. I know it was on of the hardest things for a lot of guys with kids to do. The two-hour difference for me was tough because you get up in the morning after 8:30-8:45 start, which was in Edmonton, you go to bed maybe at 2 a.m. You get up at like 10-11 the next day, it's already 1 p.m. here, they're in the middle of the day, you talk to them for 10-15 minutes, you go onto your meeting, eating and all that stuff and the next thing you know, they're going to bed. That's the toughest thing, you didn't get to talk to them as much as you'd like, but they were supportive for us to try and get that second Cup. We didn't play the way we'd like, and that's really at the end of the day what's very disappointing to me, it doesn't sit well still, it's very hard to understand how we couldn't really just follow up our game. At certain times, we had really, really good spurts and then for the next 10 minutes, it wasn't so good. Disappointing.

With everything you went through this past year, how crazy a year has it been?
Pretty strange. It is what it is. Did I wish we had a second run at it defending our title in front of our fans, in front of other buildings? Would have it been different? I think it would have, to be honest with you. I really think it could have changed something. The pressure of games up there is different. For me, I said that before, I was really against this whole thing from a long time, (but) once you get there, you change your mind, you might as well do it. You're going to work as hard as you can and that's what I did. It wasn't as bad. You play so many tournaments growing up, no fans. I said that before, roller hockey tournaments, anything, summer tournaments, and knowing how competitive that I am, I knew I would come up to the challenge, but really was a worry as a group. I think it affected us a bit for sure. 

You've voiced your displeasure for the round-robin/seeding idea from the get-go. Why didn't you like it?
I still don't like it. It's not right. You play 71 games, and to have three games matter the most really, we saw how Boston, how Washington went through the same thing. So yeah, that's disappointing, that part's disappointing. We're not the only team. A team like Pittsburgh were really close to being in the top four in the East, I believe. They ended up having to play Montreal and you lose. That's tough for them too. At the end of the day, we had to come up and adjust to whatever situation and we didn't do a good enough job, but I do think that the 71-game season should have mattered a lot more. For us to have that short of an off-season last year and to manage to have this regular season through all the tough (things), we had to grind a lot. We had to go through a lot of things. It took a lot out of us. I don't know what it was, but we just couldn't grab it back again for one more time. It takes a lot of energy to stay at the top of the standings after the off-season we had. Guys were still injured, many little injuries that are just nagging like I was mentioning about myself, but there's 20 other guys going through that same thing. It was just tough to manage. You had to stay sharp, you had to keep training, stay ready, but we just didn't play good enough up there.

Did it feel it was more like work this year than last year?
Let's be honest. It's never work. I'll always remember this about guys that I played (against), top players in the league like Crosby, they enjoy that part so much and that's what I did this year. When I was going through kind of this year injury-wise and all that stuff, and to have to show up the next day and still be able to play as good as you can, that's what it's all about. Yes, it's tough, it's grinding, it grinds you mentally, but I think that's what athletes do. There's 20 other guys in the room that did the same thing.

Where does this group go next, is the window still open to win?
Yeah, it certainly is. I hope the younger guys (want) to get back to winning. ... I went to finals two years ago, won last year, and honestly went into this thinking we just weren't going to lose. It hurt me so much when we lost, to be honest with you. It took a lot out of me. You invest so much. You go through the struggles, playoff-wise, all that stuff, losing in first round, sometimes with St. Louis, sometimes with other teams thinking it's going to be maybe you'll never get there in the final, maybe you'll never win, and then when you go twice, you feel like you're never going to leave that part and you want to work as hard as you can to stay that. I just hope that guys go home and then we get the hunger again to do it. I think we should feel really comfortable with our group. You had Vladi, Bozie, Steener of our main, older guys that bring a lot of guidance to the group that weren't playing and a lot of those games and that changes our lineup, our depth, which is really a strength for our team. I really think we have a chance to keep doing it. I think we have a really good team and I don't make the decisions. There's going to be a lot of things that can happen, but for me, I think we can do it. We just have the believe in our team identity. When we did it against Vancouver, you look at the corsi, all that stuff, the puck possession time, we were killing them but we just didn't do it long enough and we have to wait.

What will the of your summer be like, your approach to training?
It's going to be the same thing. Pretty much the last five, six months, which is hard. You want to have time where you can just completely unplug, and I think for the next month or so, it's really going to be important guys do that. I think we will do that mostly after what we lived throughout the whole year, including JayBo, which we obviously missed a lot, but I think it's important. Honestly, I can't wait to get back to St. Louis, get my kid to go on in school and maybe minor hockey. I mentioned a couple things to look at and then who knows, maybe some procedures to do or not after that. I just want to get healed up, feel good about myself, feel good about my body so I can start training as hard as I can to get back and keep improving for next year.

On not having Steen in the lineup:
Steener's a guy that brings a lot of guidance, the way we play as a group. The role that he did last year going from basically a guy that was playing top two lines for most of his career to going down to the fourth line and having one of the better fourth lines in the whole playoffs. Those guys were scoring important goals. You see Vancouver, Motte, Beagle, those guys scored big goals, Virtanen scored a couple, I think against us as well. That's what you need. You need scoring from everywhere to have a chance to win in the playoffs, and yeah, he's a guy who brings the guidance, he brings a little bit of the culture, the team identity. Back when we started slipping, started losing, he's a guy that goes on the ice, either with his words or his actions going on the ice, brings it back. The depth, we were affected for sure. If we had Barby, Sunny and Steener play together, I really think our identity would look a little bit different.

Has your game, your career, gotten better as you go on?
The few times in my career where I had really good chemistry with guys, I can basically be honest, I think the two times it really clicked with guys was with Ryan Getzlaf in Anaheim and 'O'Ry.' For a long long time, obviously we played for the last two years for the most part together. I'm very fortunate that it clicks with him that well because he's one of our most, if not, most important players. He plays the right way, we see the game very similarly as you can tell in puck possession, not losing pucks, keeping pucks alive, being strong on our sticks on the o-zone, and then obviously defensively, he does so many things well as well. I'm not the greatest skater and he's not either and I think it goes well in a sense that we kind of like go up the play together at the same time, we kind of see things at the same speed and he's just a very intelligent player, a very smart player in many aspects. For me, I just want to keep getting better. I want to keep improving. I want to be ready so that I keep having that opportunity putting myself in a place where I can play those minutes with him and even take on some more.

When you sign a contract, you never know when it's going to be your last one. People always worry about guys when they get into their 30's, how their game's going to go. It's been interesting for me so far the first two years of my 30's. I really want to keep improving. I think I proved this year for the first time I was basically more on the first power plays, 5-on-3's, 4-on-3's in overtime, 3-on-3. I really never had that. If you look at my career, I never really had that consistently and as a player, that's something you really want to have and on top of having it, I'm doing it with guys I clicked really well (with). With Schenner, same thing. With Petro, Schwartzy, our power play this year was really good. I think we were third in the league and I don't remember in St. Louis all my years that we were that high as a group. It was really fun to play with those guys. I think Marc Savard's another really smart guy that I hope we bring back. He's one of the main reasons why our power play was this high, to be honest with you. That's what I believe.

Blues forward Alexander Steen

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- A little over a year ago, Alexander Steen was part of one of the most consistent, hard-working fourth lines in the NHL that helped produce the first Stanley Cup in the history of the Blues.

History didn't repeat itself in 2020 for the 36-year-old Steen and the Blues, who were unceremoniously bounced in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Vancouver Canucks.

Blues forward Alexander Steen (20)

As a matter of fact, Steen started but wasn't able to finish the playoffs dealing with what was a nagging injury.

After completing his 15th season in the NHL, Steen reflected on why the Blues couldn't pick up where they left off during the regular season, which was finish first in the Western Conference but were anything but a top-tiered team once the NHL's Return to Play Plan began.

Steen also talked about what he plans on doing the rest of the summer as far as his injury is concerned, if the Blues' window is still open to be on top again and how much he has left in the tank as far as his career's concerned, among other things:

Why was it so hard for team to find its game, particularly on defense?
I think our struggles were getting to the details of what makes our game so strong. Some of it was defensive, but I think the lack of the offensive side of it too also led a little bit to the defensive aspects of it. It's an accelerated timeline and I think we needed to be quicker to the punch there, quicker to get to those details that make us such a strong team.

Was it tough to watch knowing you couldn't help being injured?
That's difficult. It's always difficult when you're on the outside. I think more so in that bubble format, that's the reason, why we're there. It was hard. I thought the guys battled and worked and we were trying to get there and we just couldn't, for whatever reason, couldn't get those things in place to make us stronger than Vancouver in a seven-game series.

On what you're dealing with:
It started before camp and then kind of led into camp, had some issues going on during. It was kind of an accelerated timeline, so I think we were chasing it from the get-go, tried taking a couple periods off, like a couple of sections of camp and even when we got to the bubble, just seeing if things would calm down but yeah, we just couldn't get it under control. Now will be looking at over the next few weeks and treating and rehabbing and getting everything back up and running.

How surprising is it you couldn't translate solid camp to Edmonton?
I don't know, you're also playing against opposition. It's not just your side of things. You're also meeting a team that's doing the same things as far as skating and execution and things like that. I think it was more the execution of our game. There was times where we were with the puck not executing at our standard or our usual level, but I think there was a lot of details away from the puck that creates our team game and the stability of our structure and things like that. It was there at times but just not consistently enough.

Did you hurt something over pause, or aggravated after long layoff?
It got aggravated. There's not like an instance during the quarantine or anything like that. 

Nothing that needs surgery, just time and rehab?
Obviously we're going to look at ... we just got back a few days ago so we're trying to get organized here since we got back. Obviously we'll go see the doctors. Obviously when you're in the bubble, it's a little more difficult to get all the tests. We were trying to get back into the games and things like that. Now there's not that same urgency to get me back on the ice. We'll look at getting the proper testing and see the right people and go from there and see what happens. I don't think it's anything like that (but) I don't know.

Was there happiness like when you arrived back home from Edmonton?
Yeah, it was. The wives and kids and families were sacrificing themselves for this period for allowing us to go and pursue the Cup again. The day when we first left for the bubble was a difficult one. It was a little odd or unusual for how we leave. We leave for a week, 10 days or two weeks, but this one was a little bit different. So that part when you got home was definitely ... you get to see the kid again, things like that was obviously uplifting in a time where we were upset.

Where do you feel like this group needs to go, can go with uncertainty of player personnel/is the window still open?
Absolutely. I think so. There is a lot of uncertainty and no one really knows what to expect over the next few weeks or months, but that's unknown for everyone, for all the teams and I'm sure everyone will be kind of reacting or doing similar things. But I do (believe) the team we have here and the group is very strong. Our goaltending, even during this tournament where I think their stats weren't as good, they were solid. There's a couple games in the round-robin where 'Binner' was the best he's played. I think it was just a collective problem that I stated earlier of us not being able to find our rhythm. But in saying that, the regular season and how we looked throughout and obviously these unusual circumstances, I'm very confident that the group will get back together and be hungry and strong and be looking to have more success.

How do you personally approach this off-season?
First and foremost, I've got to get healthy here. That's going to be my number one priority so I could get to my off-season training as quickly as I can. I think it's obviously going to be a little bit easier. We'll have more access to more things of training-nature as far as treatment, rehab and things like that, so it shouldn't be as big a break as before this tournament was.

How wild of a season was this with everything that happened?
A lot's happened within the last year for sure for our group. I'm very proud of who we are as a team as far as how we play and how we take care of each other both on and off the ice. There were some things that definitely normally don't happen in a regular season or playoffs. We've always been tight. We've grown even more (and) compact as a group. Those are big reasons why I think that we'll come back next season hungry and strong again.

On Jay Bouwmeester:
Everyone knows what he was like as a player, what he is like as a player, the professionalism that he brings every day. When he speaks, everyone listens because he doesn't talk a ton, but when he does, it's something important that he needs to bring up and it's always the right time to do it as well. He has a great feel and sense for the game, what he feels the team needs to do going forward, so there's a lot of leadership qualities in Jay that we're going to miss as a group. As a friend, it's been a lot of emotions throughout this year. When he came to St. Louis, I think that was a big, huge lift for our club at the time. I think we knew we were going to be competitive for a long time when he came and decided to stay, that this is where he wanted to be (and) believed in this. He is going to be very missed if he decides to hang em up and we'll cross that bridge when we get there. He definitely has brought a lot to our team, our community and to me as a friend and my family.

On Vladimir Tarasenko, being a letdown when he went back to St. Louis:
He's a prominent goal scorer and a big, important piece to our club. When you lose goals like that, it's always not optimal, but guys have done a terrific job of being able to rally through all these different kinds of elements and situations that have been thrown our way and they did it again through these playoffs. We'll see what issues or what results of Vladi's injury and hopefully have him ready to go when we start up again.

On life in the bubble atmosphere and was that a distraction for your team?
No, I don't think so, especially when we started getting games every other day. When our series started against Vancouver, I think you could tell that it was almost like being back on the road again and the rhythm of things just started growing a little bit more. I think as that happened, we, we started coming on a little bit better as well.

How much do you want to go with your career, how much is left in the tank?
For right now, my main objective is to get healthy again and get back to training and up and running for next season. That's where my focus lies right now. Speculation or projections about future is in the future, so right now that's going to be my number one objective is to get healthy and get my body ready and prepared for the next start, the next training camp.

Blues fall flat in season-ending loss to Canucks, 6-2 in Game 6

Defending Cup champs won't get the opportunity to repeat as mistakes doom 

them again; Binnington pulled in return to net, allowing four goals on 18 shots

By LOU KORAC
When the fourth Vancouver goal went in, their third of the second period in a 5:57 stretch and signified the end of Jordan Binnington's, and for all intends and purposes the Blues' season, all one could think of was Tony Burton yelling, "Throw the damn towel!"

It was the sight of Ivan Drago pummeling a poor, defenseless Apollo Creed.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Jaden Schwartz (17), who scored twice for the Blues on Friday, works the

puck behind the net being defended by Vancouver's Jordie Benn.

It was that kind of night for the Blues. They had no answer, and their fight for survival and hope to repeat as Stanley Cup champion came to a crashing halt in the Edmonton bubble.

The Vancouver Canucks made sure of it when they staked themselves to a four-goal lead, chased last year's Cinderella goalie from the game and cruised to a 6-2 win Friday in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round, winning the best-of-7 series 4-2.

It was evident from the drop of the puck the Blues, who throughout their Cup run in 2019 were able to overcome all obstacles, were not going to be able to survive this.

By the midpoint of the first period, the Blues had already surrendered 13 shots, they were down 1-0 and had 12 giveaways; they finished with a whopping 23. It was a microcosm of just how they played throughout this whole process and the moment they stepped inside the bubble on July 26.

It started with a 4-0 exhibition loss against Chicago on July 29, continued through three round-robin games, all losses, and even though they found their game at times in this series, the Blues just couldn't seem to get out of their own way, making mistake after mistake after mistake and the young and vibrant Canucks, who advance to the second round and a date with the Vegas Golden Knights, waiting to pounce.

And in the aftermath of it all, the most disturbing thing of it all came from the words of veteran David Perron, who summed it all up rather succinctly.

"It didn't seem like our energy was coming from everyone," Perron said, "but it was tough. We had a couple of bad bounces right away and in the back of our net. Honestly, I can't really even think about this whole thing right now that it's over. It's very frustrating, very disappointing. That's my thoughts right now."

Blues coach Craig Berube agreed with Perron's comments, saying, "Yeah, I think there was a few games where I didn't find the energy was there. We need more, we need more from more guys, that's the bottom line. You know I don't have the answer why the energy wasn't there. If I did, I'd tell you, but I don't. But David Perron is right. It's not good enough. You can't win in this league unless you have every guy ready to go and give you his best. In the playoffs, you have to have that. Our team was successful last year because we had everybody on board every night."

That's disturbing that a player and coach were essentially insinuating that not everyone was on board. Perhaps it's understandable considering this is an entirely different setup, one played in front of no fans, and not played in front of your home crowd. But this was a harsh reality for a team that had just raised the holy grail, the Stanley Cup, a little over a year ago. 

"We didn't play like we normally did," said Blues center Ryan O'Reilly, last year's Conn Smythe Trophy winner. "There were times when we did, where we were hard to play against, put the puck in right areas and made it difficult on them, but we weren't consistent with it, and then we'd let them get momentum back. It was just too difficult. 

"At times, we looked like a junior team out there the way we were just turning the puck over, not playing the right way. It came back to bite us. Give them credit, they played smart. When they had momentum, they used it and we dug ourselves too big a hole to get out of."

Berube was a master at making decisions that went the right way for the Blues last season, including inserting Binnington in as the starting goalie. In a do-or-die game, Berube went back to Binnington, who struggled allowing nine goals on 47 shots in losing Games 1 and 2 before Jake Allen would get the starts for Games 3-5. 

The move backfired, as Binnington was replaced by Allen again, but this time, it came mid-game after Binnington allowed four goals on 18 shots.

For the series, Binnington was 0-3 with a save percentage of .800; he allowed 13 goals on 65 shots.

"Well, the decision, really, Jake played three in a row and obviously lost the third one," Berube said. "'Binner' has been a big-time goalie for us for a long time, and he had some practice in there and worked on his game. It's a gut feeling, I go with him. He's done a lot for us and won a championship with him, so that was my decision.

"I think 'Binner' was a lot like our whole team. I think at times, we didn't play at the level we needed to play, that's just the bottom line."

It started quickly, and for the fifth time in six games, the Blues began the game chasing it. They fell behind 1-0 when fourth-line center Jay Beagle took advantage when Jacob de la Rose stepped on a puck in his own zone trying to move it up ice, fell to the ice and turned it over, and Beagle was able to get into the slot and wire a shot to Binnington's glove side just 3:45 into the game.

"Early on, I just thought we didn't execute very well with the puck," Berube said. "I thought that we got going a little bit, got some good shifts together. But in the end, we just weren't good enough."

Antoine Roussel scored 2:09 into the second, Troy Stecher scored at 6:49 and Brock Boeser's power-play goal at 8:06 was all she wrote for Binnington, and for all intends and purposes, all she wrote for the Blues.

"It's disappointing the way we played in front of him," O'Reilly said. "One of the reasons why we're here in this position is because of him and the way he is and we did a terrible job of helping him out. We have to defend better, we have to have jump in front of him and it's on us, it's on the guys in front of him. It wasn't good enough for him. It's embarrassing by us."

It all falls back to when the Blues had a 3-1 lead in Game 5 and fell apart for a 10-15 minute span and lost that game 4-3. They never recovered.

"Well, that's a tough loss, up 3-1 and let that one slip away," Berube said. "Like I said, we gave Vancouver those goals in that game. I don't think that they outplayed us in that game by any means, but we made mistakes that cost us and we let them back into the game. It deflates your team. The team is deflated. I felt like when that second goal went in tonight, we seemed deflated again. I don't have all the answers. The bottom line is we didn't play good enough."

And the Blues didn't play again with a full lineup. Already missing Vladimir Tarasenko, who flew back to St. Louis to have his surgically repaired dislocated shoulder looked at by team doctors again, Alexander Steen was out of the lineup again as was veteran forward Tyler Bozak, who took a shot off his right foot, skated in pregame warmups, but Berube said he couldn't go. Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson missed his second straight as well. 

So the lineup that won the Cup in Boston on June 12, 2019 was missing seven players from that lineup. It just wasn't the same team whose ship went down on this night.

"Last game, we had five minutes where we fell asleep and they took advantage," said Pietrangelo, who now goes into a short off-season wondering where he'll be playing next season, if it's here or someplace else since he can become an unrestricted free agent. "I don't think we did it for long enough. I think we had spurts in this round that we did things the way we wanted to, but it wasn't good enough for long enough stretches. We all know that. It's on all of us, especially us guys who have gone through this before. Just didn't piece together the way we wanted to for longer stretches."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

David Perron walks off the ice with teammate Alex Pietrangelo after the

Blues had their season come to an end with a 6-2 loss to Vancouver Friday.

During Pietrangelo's last few shifts, the emotions were pretty evident. It's only natural to have a range of emotions, especially when you know the season is coming to an end, but this is different for him going into an unknown situation for the first time in his career.

"More so when the game's over," Pietrangelo said. "It's not a fun situation to be in, especially when you've been somewhere your whole career, but it is what it is. I guess really my only thought was just to get home, see my kids and see where the future takes us."

The Blues avoided the shutout by finally solving Jacob Markstrom, who was a difference-maker in this series throughout, when Jaden Schwartz scored twice.

Blues squander two-goal lead, lose pivotal Game 5 to Canucks 4-3

St. Louis led 3-1 in second period, let guard down as Vancouver 

scored three goals in six-plus minute span to grab 3-2 series lead

By LOU KORAC
How often is the phrase spoken or heard when a team is in total control of a game and allows it to slip away: "We took our foot off the gas."

If it's not "we took our foot off the gas," then it's "you have to play a full 60 minutes."

So when dissecting the Blues' 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place in Edmonton, a game in which the Blues, who now are on the brink of elimination down 3-2 in the series, had complete control over leading 3-1, literally and figuratively took their foot off the gas, and they certainly didn't play a 60-minute game.

Some of that credit goes to the Canucks, which frittered away a 2-0 series lead and handed momentum right back to the Blues. A lot of that credit goes to Jacob Markstrom, who made some saves in that game when the Blues were ready to step on the Canucks' throats leading 3-1, but it's very disheartening when the defending Stanley Cup champs, who know better than anyone else what it was like putting games away when leading in last year's playoffs other than one blip in Game 1 of the Cup Final against Boston, a chance to take a hammerlock lead in the series and really put the Canucks in a bind, don't close the deal.

When Zach Sanford scored a power-play goal at 5:51 of the second period, it gave the Blues a two-goal lead and seemingly the game, or at least that's what they thought. 

And by thinking that over the final 10-12 minutes of that period cost them dearly.

Vancouver would score three times in a span of 6:23 to grab a 4-3 lead, a lead the Blues wouldn't really threaten consistently again until the final minutes of regulation.

"A hundred percent. We fell asleep there for whatever, 10-15 minutes of that period," said Blues forward Brayden Schenn, who scored the tying goal in the first to make it 1-1. "Quit moving our feet, quit playing hard in our d-zone and made some mistakes and before you know it, it was 4-3."

The Blues won Games 3 and 4 by smothering the Canucks, particularly in their own end. After Vancouver opened the game with some jump and led 1-0 on the first of two goals from Tyler Motte, a shorthanded goal after Alex Pietrangelo broke his twig on a point shot, the Blues began taking the game over and led 2-1 after one on goals by Schenn and Ryan O'Reilly. And then Sanford scored the Blues' third power-play goal the past two games and all seemed destined for a third straight win.

"We're doing a lot of good things, except in that second period, we didn't have our best 15 minutes, but we've been here before," forward Jaden Schwartz said. "... Today is frustrating, but we've got a resilient group and guys have been here before. We'll be ready for that next game and that's all we're worried about."

The Blues actually had some good shifts after the Sanford goal, and even prior to it. Jacob de la Rose got a fortuitous bounce off a linesman and was starting at an empty net. He fired the puck with a 2-1 lead but Markstrom's acrobatics kept that puck out of the net, and after Sanford scored, Robert Thomas had a golden opportunity in tight but couldn't elevate a puck, and Markstrom kicked that chance out. 

If it goes to 4-1 there, game over likely.

"Markstrom out-competed us on some plays, I thought," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "We had goals and he was down and out, but we didn't elevate it and we didn't put it in. Those saves rally a team, they give them confidence and they demoralize our team. We've got to bear down on them. We've got to put them in."

The Blues didn't, and the Canucks came back. 

J.T. Miller's fourth goal of the series, off a goalmouth scramble as the puck trickled through Jake Allen's pads after Allen initially made a right pad stop on Miller, gave Vancouver life at 3-2 at 11:54 of the second.

And then Allen, who made 26 saves in the game, allowed a shortside goal from a bad angle to Jake Virtanen at 16:08 to tie the game at 3-3, and then Motte's second of the game on a break-in alone when Sanford had a puck knocked off his stick on the Vancouver zone, Thomas had a puck in the neutral zone stripped and Vince Dunn was flat-footed defending it made it 4-3 at 18:17.

Instead of going into the third and protecting a lead and keeping the pedal to the grindstone, the Blues were chasing the game.

"No, I don't think we were (tight defensively)," defenseman Justin Faulk said. "I think we gave them a little bit too much time in the d-zone. We've got to play a little bit tighter as a group of five and break the puck out a little bit cleaner. Obviously it showed the most there at the end of the second period. But it's nice that we've got another day tomorrow and then the game on Friday. We'll get back at it and be tighter the next game."

And chasing the game, the Blues didn't generate a ton in the third even though the Canucks were playing a defenseman short after Alexander Edler got hit in the face by Jordan Kyrou's errand skate blade.

"Not making any plays. We didn't make plays," Berube said. "We gave the puck back to them. We had a few in-zone plays and chances and some zone time, but not nearly enough. Took two penalties, unnecessary penalties on both of them so had to kill penalties and we just didn't make any plays out of our end."

Those penalties came on Ivan Barbashev, who returned after missing the first four games for the birth of his son and having to quarantine for four days, and on Sammy Blais.

The Blues peppered Markstrom with 39 shots, but the Canucks goalie made some of those key saves when it was 2-1 and 3-1 stand up. They were those "remember those saves if the Canucks come back" type of saves. Markstrom stopped 36 for the game.

"He made some good saves tonight and we had some chances," Schenn said. "We had a couple chances to make it 4-1. Obviously we didn't and then we took our foot the gas. Their goalie's playing well. We'll find ways to be better next game, but we've got to tighten up defensively. That's how we play, that's how we win hockey games and scoring on our chances. Obviously their goalie's playing well. We're throwing a lot of pucks at home and he's making a lot of saves. There's always ways to find ways to score goals and we'll look at it and make some adjustments for Game 6."

They better, or their season's done.

"We didn't win enough puck battles in certain parts of the game today," Berube said. "There were times when it was good, but not good enough. You've got to play for 60 minutes and we didn't do that tonight and we lost the game because of it.

"Our puck management tonight was not very good. We've got to do a better job of that first of all. There's a lot of missed passes and just didn't move our feet enough for me. We've got to skate and attack and put people on their heels. We did at times but not enough. We need to do it for 60 minutes and we didn't do that. We need to get to our game for 60 minutes and we didn't do that tonight. There were pockets of it but not nearly enough."

As for Allen, Berube said, "He was fine. I think he'd want the one goal back from the side of the net maybe. Motte walked in twice and scored on breakaways basically. Jake wasn't the problem."

Allen got another chance, has run with it, likely to stay with it for time being

Netminder stepped aside for Binnington last season, became mentor on 

way to Cup run, given chance in spotlight, likely remains in goal vs. Canucks

By LOU KORAC
It's never easy, especially for a veteran player, to give up his throne.

In the NHL, that would pertain to a goalie's cage, but that's what Jake Allen did last year when the Blues' season was spiraling in a slippery, downward slope as the calendar turned to 2019.

They were mired in last place as late as Jan. 3 and were looking for a shakeup of a veteran roster that was built from top to bottom to, not only compete for a Stanley Cup, but to win one.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues goalie Jake Allen (34) makes a save on Canucks forward Brock

Boeser during Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round on Monday. 

The Blues turned to an unknown to the NHL ranks who had all of 13 minutes of experience prior to last season, but when given the spotlight, he only pitched a 25-save shutout in his first NHL start on Jan. 7, 2019, winning at Philadelphia 3-0. His name is Jordan Binnington, and ... well ... you know the rest.

In between Binnington's first start and "the rest" was a shift in rank and the first-ever Stanley Cup for the Blues, and Binnington was a major contributor that spearheaded the turnaround, or worst-to-first run.

Allen graciously stepped aside and didn't make it about himself. Like a true pro, he made it about the team and enjoyed every minute of the ride. He may have graciously stepped aside on the outside, but there had to be some prideful hurt on the inside. It's human nature, but Allen made the most of a situation that wound up turning out to be good for the Blues.

Fast forward to 2020, the year this generation will never forget for all the crazy reasons, but the roles, at least for the time being, have reversed back to where they were before Binnington.

Binnington naturally opened the Stanley Cup Playoffs inside the Edmonton bubble as the clear choice of No. 1. Of course he was. He started 50 of the Blues' 71 regular-season games and was an All-Star when the competition was held in January in St. Louis.

But the Blues lost the first two games against the Canucks, after losing their exhibition game against Chicago and three round-robin games, and coach Craig Berube needed a difference-making spark, something that would send a major jolt throughout his lineup. Backs were against the wall and a young and confident Canucks were smelling blood in the water.

Enter Allen, who was thrust into a Game 3 start and was brilliant with a 39-save effort in a 3-2 overtime win to get the Blues back in the series on Sunday, and he followed it up with a 22-save performance in a 3-1 win less than 24 hours later in Game 4.

The most important position was stabilized for at least the past two games, and Allen provided it. This after Binnington allowed nine goals on 47 shots in losing Games 1 and 2. Not to lay all the blame on Binnington, but like the rest of the team, there was plenty of inconsistent play there.

Something needed to happen.

So this isn't a question of who's the No. 1 and who's the No. 2. This is a luxury for the defending Cup champs. A lot of the national talk has surrounded, among many teams, their ability to have two quality goalies, and the Vegas Golden Knights were the prime example with their strength of Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner in goal for a 1-2 tandem. It's a necessity in today's NHL. The Blues have been blessed with two quality netminders for years, and this is no exception, and Allen has been part of many of those tandems.

Remember how good he was during the 2016-17 playoffs, particularly against the Minnesota Wild in the first round when Allen allowed just eight goals on 182 shots, good for a .956 save percentage?

Now that he's been called upon again, he's helped the Blues get this series to a best-of-3, and he's looked as comfortable as ever in a Blues uniform.

"Yeah, obviously this year is a unique situation," Allen said. "I knew I had to be ready. You don’t have 82 games to prep yourself for the playoffs, so it was just working hard and being ready. I got a chance and, you know, try to make the most of it. The guys have played really hard the past couple of nights and hats off to them. It made my job not overly difficult and it got us right back in the series here. So it’s good to go battling with the guys. It’s been awhile, but it’s been fun."

The Blues have a stats graphic that shows Allen is second all-time among goalies since 1960, with a minimum of 20 games played, in goals-against average in the playoffs at 1.98, only behind one-time Blue Patrick Lalime (1.77). Tied for third are Martin Brudeur and Dominik Hasek at 2.02. And Allen is third all-time in save percentage among active goalies at .928, behind Mike Smith (.934) and Craig Anderson (.929), and ahead of Braden Holtby (.927), Cam Talbot (.926) and Tuukka Rask (.926).

So this isn't just rolling the dice and hoping for the best. Despite the ups and downs of Allen's career with the Blues, this is experience, and someone with numbers that can back it up, and when he's on, he's really on.

"He's professional," Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo said of Allen. "The way he prepares even when he's not playing, the way he practices, the way he works with 'Binner' and 'Davey' (Blues goalie coach Dave Alexander). We have two guys that are great goalies here. Tonight was another prime example of it. I think everyone knows the stories of what 'Jakey' did last year to help Binner. When you've got two guys that are pros that are pushing each other, it's not easy. I don't know if he played last year in the playoffs, but to step in and play the way he's playing, it's fun to watch. We're confident in both of those guys and it's good to have that tandem because I know they push each other as well."

Allen, who put up career-highs in both GAA (2.15) and save percentage (.927) in 24 games (21 starts) this season, had a mop-up stint in the playoffs last season in Game 3 of the Cup Final against Boston and played the final 24:28. That's it. Other than that, he was a mentor for Binnington who continued to work just in case he would be called upon.

That's been the case throughout his career, and as forward David Perron attests, it's no surprise the work Allen puts in just to be ready when called upon.

"I think most of all, we see how great of a teammate Jake was last year, the way everything happened and even so this year, how hard he works in practice," Perron said. "I do a lot of the goalie warm-ups with him every day with him and 'Binner' and 'O’Ry' and see how hard he works every single day to keep getting better, it’s very impressive. It reminds me a lot of Fleury there in Vegas and Lehner. They’re two good goalies and the same thing with us here. It’s great to see Jake the way he is right now.

"It’s unreal. We’re very fortunate."

Allen is likely to remain in goal when the Blues and Canucks play a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday (9:30 p.m.; FS-MW, NBCSN, ESPN 101.1-FM), and after back-to-back wins in which he did what he was supposed to do, making those timely saves when called upon, it wouldn't be a surprise.

Allen is 2-0-1 with a 1.20 GAA and .961 save percentage in three starts since play has resumed, stopping 98 of 102 shots faced.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues defenseman Colton Parayko (middle) comes in to congratulate goalie

Jake Allen (34) after a Blues win in Anaheim on March 11.

Berube has pushed all the right buttons since he arrived and became the coach. He pushed the right button again when he made the change, and should the Blues survive this series and move on, who's to say he doesn't go back to Binnington? But for the time being, Allen has stabilized the ship. It'll be up to the Blues to steer her home from here on in.

"We've got two really good goalies," Berube said. "Jake felt good, he played a strong game. I had a gut feeling and just went with him. He was excellent again.

"He's extremely prepared, works extremely hard. He doesn't take much time off. He's always out there practicing, whether on the ice or video and just staying prepared. He does a real good job. He's a real good pro."