If Blues haven't had sense of urgency yet, they need to find it quickly with season winding down

Team was on outside looking in playoff picture after blowing two-goal lead to 

Arizona Saturday; Berube puts team through intense practice, splits up lines  

By LOU KORAC
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- The end to practice on Monday couldn't have been scripted better by the great Herb Brooks.

(St. Louis Blues/Scott Rovak)

Ryan O'Reilly (90) said Monday every game matters, every point matters

for the Blues.

"Again!"

"Again!"

"Again!"

No, it wasn't to the extent that the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey coach, played by Kurt Russell in the 2004 film Miracle, implemented on his players during a bag skate after an exhibition tie against Norway, but the message was similar in that Blues coach Craig Berube needs more from his team.

That was none more evident after a 3-2 loss against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, a game in which the Blues led 2-0 in the first and took the proverbial foot off the gas, something this group has been all too familiar with.

It was a hard, intense practice, up and down the ice with frantic pace and lots of contact. Had that game-like feel to it, only guys on the same team doing it to each other.

"I think it's trying to get the aggressiveness back in our game for 60 minutes," Berube said. "We do come out in the first periods and we've been aggressive and we've gotten leads and we've played well, but then we really don't stay with that aggressiveness for a consistent 60 minutes. That was some of the practice today and the video today. It was just basically our forecheck and neutral zone as being just more aggressive, harder, tighter, forcing teams to make bad puck decisions and bad plays with pucks. That's a big part of our game and it always has been here. That's what's made us a good team here."

And then following all that, it was some good, old-fashioned bag skating. As it goes, the lung capacity diminishes, the breathing gets heavier, the heart races 100 miles an hour. 

The players got the message and the meaning behind it.

"I think just compete on the ice and play hard, just be hard on the forecheck, backchecking hard, all the little details," forward Sammy Blais said. "We've got to dig in for 60 minutes and if we do that, we're going to be in good shape."

"We looked at some video and you could see how we lost the games the way we were forechecking, just not making the right reads that we need to," center Ryan O'Reilly said. "It's just something we addressed and wanted to have a hard, fast practice and be skating and get the feeling back of what it should look like. It was good, I thought we did a good job. Guys worked and it was a good day of work."

The Blues (19-18-6) were in a position to go up three points on Arizona with two games in hand. The next time they hit the ice, Thursday at home against Colorado, they'll have three games in hand, but they'll either be one, two or three points behind instead of ahead.

"Every game matters, every point matters," O'Reilly said. "We've got some tough opponents up coming up here. We've got to take (it) one game at a time. We can play with anyone in this league and we can beat anyone in this league. It's going to be the commitment to the details and putting 60 minutes together. That's our focus."

Despite the negative vibes outside the locker room, particularly from a fan base growing impatient with the Blues' inconsistencies, the feeling in the locker room is still one of belief.

"If you look at the standings, we're battling for a playoff spot right now, but in the locker room, we all believe that we're going to be able to get in," Blais said. "We've just got to keep digging in and just keep working hard. If we play a full 60 minutes like we played last game in the first period, I think we give ourselves (a chance) to win every game. If we just play hard and play our game, we're going to be fine."

There are 13 games remaining to try and get into the top four in the West Division. Colorado, Vegas and Minnesota seem to be virtual locks for Nos. 1-3, respectively, but the fourth position is up for grabs, and it's up to a veteran group to try and grab it despite the tough schedule ahead.

"It's something obviously we've addressed," O'Reilly said. "We're all talking about it. Not going to give those conversations for the full part, but we are. We're for sure discussing it and trying to find our way out of it. We believe in each other. We believe in each other here. We know it's not going to be easy. It's something we talk about that it's going to be tough to get out of it, but when we do, it's going to be worth it. It's just sticking with it and becoming closer as a team and having each other's backs.

"... Playing for this Blues team, it's required that you play hard and you leave it out there every time you touch the ice. Can we say we've done that? Probably not. It's not the way we want to be, but it doesn't mean we can't achieve it. We know what our game looks like when we do it well, the physicality and the intensity. It's just maintaining it. It's a very tough league to win in, but we're going to find our way our of it."

Berube and the coaching staff made some tweaks to the line combinations, swapping wingers to play with centers Brayden Schenn and Tyler Bozak. 

Schenn was flanked by Mike Hoffman and Jordan Kyrou, while Bozak took on Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko, two wingers who have struggled to produce offensively along with Schenn.

"Schwartz, Schenn and Tarasenko ... listen, they've been a good line for us for the last couple years, but right now, they're not getting any production," Berube said. "I just switched the centermen out. Sometimes you just make a little change like that can add a spark to both lines like that hopefully. I thought (Bozak), Hoffman and Sanford and it was Kyrou there sometimes, they did a good job. They've been good on the power play, which has been good right now, but our 5-on-5, I just need to see more from other lines and that's why I made that change. I think O'Reilly's line has been good, they've been producing."

As a line, it wasn't driving much offense, if at all, and the change for Berube is a hope that it can spark all players involved.

The coach had separate talks with both Tarasenko and Schenn on Monday.

"I talked to (Tarasenko) today about just skating and attacking more and just working more," Berube said. "Sometimes I think he probably feels like he's waiting for something to happen and I think you've got to go work for it and you've got to get in there. He's got to get inside the dots more and attack more and be around the net more and all those little things. I think it'll help him and I think he's got to get his nose dirty a little bit. Does that make sense?

"I think (Schenn and Schwartz) continue to get some opportunities to score too and it's that they're snakebit right now. I talked to Schenn today about getting in there and getting your nose dirty around the net. Sometimes you've got to get one off your skate or a rebound, some second and third opportunities around the net, you've got to get some greasy goals. This time of year especially, it's important that you're getting into those hard areas and you're getting some greasy goals. That's really all you can do. They're working hard, I get that, but we do need them to produce."

(St. Louis Blues/Scott Rovak)

Blues center Brayden Schenn was flanked by new wingers at practice on

Monday. He was centering Mike Hoffman and Jordan Kyrou.

And in order to do that, Berube had to split up the Bozak line with Hoffman and Sanford, which was driving offensive chances along with O'Reilly, Blais and David Perron on Saturday and in recent games.

"It's tough," Berube said. "I agree, but some of their production has been on the power play too right? They'll stay together on the power play, and it is (tough to break a good line up), but we need more than that going. We need all four lines going and all our six D's. It's real important right now and down the stretch here that we have everybody helping out and contributing."

Blues' 3-2 loss against Coyotes points finger at many of top players

Players with biggest contracts on team may be playing, working hard but not 

driving offensive numbers; Schwartz, Schenn, Tarasenko primary example

By LOU KORAC
No excuses. 

And the Blues don't deserve any, other than a handful of highly questionable non-calls by Dean Morton and Kyle Rehmen, who don't deserve any more space wasted on them other than this, but the Blues had this right in their hands, a terrific road start, a two-goal lead, and then ... well ... rather than drive the bus harder, they parked the bus and the end result was a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes Saturday and the grip they had on fourth place in the West Division was handed on a platter to the Desert Dogs on Saturday at Gila River Arena.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Vince Dunn (right) congratulates Tyler Bozak after Bozak's goal for

the Blues against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.

Coming in, the Blues (19-18-6) held a one-point advantage on Arizona (20-20-5), which was as fragile as they come with five straight losses and outscored 21-11 in that stretch. 

So when the Blues built up a 2-0 lead when Sammy Blais scored early, then Tyler Bozak's power-play goal made it 2-0 a little more than eight minutes in; 8:14 as a matter of fact.

Now comes the execution right? Where the Blues step on the throat of a hockey team spiraling downward rapidly after losing five straight, a team that's supposed to be lacking confidence, right?

Hardly.

Instead, the Blues, chalk full of Stanley Cup champions not so long ago, buckled. It went something like taking the foot off the gas, letting up, not being aggressive, not making the right plays, not putting pucks in good places ... the list goes on and on.

And it starts with poor second periods. It happened Thursday against Colorado on a 4-3 loss. It happened again Saturday. Arizona scored twice, leveled the playing ground and it was game-on.

"We get the 2-0 lead and then it seems like we go out in second periods and we're not aggressive anymore, we sit back and let teams come at us and get on our heels," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "Next thing you know, they score right away. ... Fragile."

Fragile?

How can a team that's actually played decent, winning three of four, facing a team that's lost five in a row be fragile? Shouldn't that have been the other way around? When Arizona fell behind -- again -- shouldn't that lack of confidence grown larger in the Coyotes instead?

That's a tough one to comprehend.

The Blues seemed frenetic in the early going in the game, flying around the ice, winning the loose pucks, transitioning it with relative ease and had the Coyotes and a goalie (Darcy Kuemper) that hadn't played in nearly six weeks.

"I think it's weird," Bozak said. "Whenever you get a couple goal cushion, it's kind of difficult to keep that aggressiveness. It's something you should do, and the best teams stay aggressive. They want to keep pounding it on and keep putting more goals in the net. But it's a hard thing to do. The other thing has a push always, especially at home. ... I thought maybe we could have had a couple more power-play opportunities that were missed. That's just the way it goes. That's hockey." 

We'll get to Bozak and his linemates, Mike Hoffman and Zach Sanford, in a moment. 

But let's cut to the real chase here, probably the biggest reason why the Blues are in this predicament -- one point out of the playoffs -- with no game now until Thursday.

And enough with the injuries already. While that was a valid excuse as they were happening, that excuse is long gone.

What has happened to some of the Blues' top players? Namely Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz? 

This line used to be a terror for opposing teams not so long ago. They've played together for so long, even the times they're split up, it should be instantaneous when they do get back together, for the transition to be seamless.

But let's get this out of the way right now: Schenn and Schwartz continue to work hard, they continue to play the right way, they continue to play the structure within the system the Blues are running. But the production is a part of what they need to bring to the table, and let's face it, for what the Blues have received on their return from Tarasenko ($7.5 million cap hit), Schenn ($6.5 million) and Schwartz ($5.35 million) isn't nearly enough.

A combined $19.35 million playing together needs to have an impact on games, and they just are not.

Schenn has five assists (no goals) his past 17 games. Once upon a time, he led the West Division in goals; seems so long ago. Schwartz has two goals (in one game) his past 21 games and has just four goals in 28 games all season. Four. And Tarasenko has three goals in 19 games this season. Three. We can keep going back to the amount of time he's missed with his shoulder surgeries, but he's coming up on the quarter mark of games played. The needle has to be at least trending upward at some point here.

They're not the only high-priced players that aren't producing. Torey Krug and his $6.5 million price tag has one goal this season. And it came on the power play. His last even-strength goal came Feb. 9, 2020 with Boston at Detroit, or 56 games ago.

The list can go on here to include guys like Justin Faulk ($6.5 million), who has played well this year with his defensive responsibilities but has just one goal in 29 games.

Berube was asked if his top players should be producing more. 

"100 percent," he said. "They've got to be a lot better than they are. 

"I think confidence plays a big part of it. I think their confidence is probably not very high right now. Guys that produce and score are supposed to play make plays and things like that. When things aren't going well and they're not scoring and not producing, you lose your confidence. That's probably part of it. For me, it's simplifying things and making sure that your work ethic and your competitiveness is at an all-time high and you'll get out of stuff like that."

The Zach Sanford-Bozak-Mike Hoffman line was among the best of the Blues' lines tonight, along with the Sammy Blais-Ryan O'Reilly-David Perron line.

The Bozak line drove 81.25 percent of offense by having 13-3 Corsi-for, Corsi-against numbers. That line also had a 9-3 advantage in Fenwick-for, Fenwick against (75 percent) and a 9-1 edge in shots-for, shots-against (90 percent) for the game. Those are great numbers, but it had the least amount of time on ice together at 8:07. That's puzzling, and some of that had to do with Berube switching some lines around.

As a matter of fact, Hoffman now has four goals and two assists in three games since being a healthy scratch for two.

The O'Reilly line was 13-5 (72.22 percent) in Corsi-for, Corsi-against for the game, 8-4 (66.67 percent) in Fenwick-for, Fenwick-against and was 4-2 in shots-for, shots-against for the game and had a 10-3 edge in scoring chances for, scoring chances against with an expected goals-for of 73.25 percent. 

These lines drove the production bus for the Blues.

"I'm having a really good time playing with those two guys," Bozak said. "I think we've been jelling really well together, we're creating a lot of opportunities throughout the game. I thought we could have had a few more tonight; we've got to bear down on that and it's been fun, two great players. I think we all bring a different element to the ice and I think we work well together."

That's great to get secondary scoring from the third line, but it's only well-balanced when your top lines are producing. 

As for Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko? Well, let's just say the numbers speak for themselves: 6-9 in Corsi-for, Corsi-against; 2-7 Fenwick-for, Fenwick-against; 2-4 in shots-for, shots-against; they produced just three scoring chances for to seven scring chances against and and an expected goals-for at 0.09 to 0.29 in expected goals-against. 

That simply doesn't cut it.

Berube used these three extensively in the third period with the game on the line considering their ice time through two periods wasn't very high. And yet, Schenn (one), Schwartz (one) and Tarasenko (two) produced just four shots on goal for the game and nine combined shot attempts.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Vladimir Tarasenko (91) and Brayden Schenn (10) have found times tough

to score of late. 

"There is guys that are doing good things and working, but in the end, it's not enough out there," Berube said. 'We don't have enough guys that are helping the team win. There's not enough of them. We need more."

Time is running out, and the Blues have 13 games left to crack this. It won't get any easier though with the three teams ahead of them coming into Saturday (Colorado, Vegas and Minnesota) accounting for 10 of those games.

"Other guys playing big minutes, we all kind of feel it right now," O'Reilly said. "It's our job. Guys that are seeing the big minutes, we have to be driving the bus here and that's the only way we're going to get into the playoffs. We'll get it back, there's no doubt in my mind that we will, but it's got to happen soon. It's got to happen next game."

(4-17-21) Blues-Coyotes Gameday Lineup

By LOU KORAC
Time to take a stand for the Blues has arrived.

It's been two months since they've seen the Arizona Coyotes, but that April 15 game was the last of seven straight against the Coyotes.

When the eighth and final matchup commences at 5 p.m. today (BSMW, ESPN 101.1-FM), fourth place and the final playoff spot in the Western Division will be on the line.

The Blues (19-17-6) lead the Coyotes (19-20-5) by a point for fourth, and a win today could boost their lead, with a regulation win, by three points with two games in hand.

The Blues are 3-3-1 against the Coyotes this season, but these are two different teams than those that played two months ago.

"That was a helluva series to be honest with you," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "They were playing well and I thought they gave us a tough time. That (Conor) Garland, (Nick) Schmaltz, (Clayton) Keller line (eight goals, 11 assists) was really good against us in that series, they did a good job I thought. Their goaltender was solid. It was tough, it was good games. All of them were close games, I thought, could have went either way in that seven-game set."

Despite a 4-3 loss to Colorado on Thursday, a game in which the Blues were better for 40 of the 60 minutes, they have won three of their past four while Arizona 

"We've had some good battles against these guys," center Ryan O'Reilly said. "They've played us very well and we know it's going to be a very hard game and obviously with what's at stake too. It's the team we're fighting with for that playoff spot and it's going to be an intense game. It's an important game and it's going to have that kind of playoff feel.

"It's huge. At this time of year, every point matters and when you get to playing the team you're fighting with, it's huge. It creates separation. That's why it will be so intense and both of us are fighting for our lives. It's huge, it's huge points, but we need to keep separating ourselves and keep moving up in the standings.

"We saw them a little earlier in the year and I think we were still trying to kind of find our game a bit more. I expect we'll be a lot better. I think in the last game, and even the last game we played, we had a good two periods. Obviously our second period killed us, but I think we know what our game looks like. Focus on ourselves and being intense and doing the little details, being physical, taking care of the puck. I think if we do that, we build our game from there and not worry so much about what they're going to do."

With Arizona losing five straight, they've been outscored 21-11, so it's important for the Blues, who felt the same fate when they were going through their 0-6-1 stretch, to try and gain an edge early and get the Coyotes to doubt themselves.

"Oh absolutely. Yeah, you want to put doubt in their mind," O'Reilly said. "You do that with not giving them anything. You're disciplined with the puck, winning the right battles, winning the blue lines. You take care of those things, that frustrates teams, that wears them down and that'll force them to get into their heads. Just that commitment to those details and go from there."

The Blues' starts have been better of late, and will be a focal point today.

"For sure. I think getting a good start, I think our starts have been good," Berube said. "I think we've got to continue to get that good first period in there. It's nice to come of there with a lead, scoring first is obviously important, I think."

The Blues, barring a scheduling change from the NHL, will have just this one game in a seven-day window after their game with the Colorado Avalanche, which was supposed to be the first of three straight against them at home, has been postponed on Tuesday due to Colorado being hit with players winding up on the COVID-19 list.

"Basically, we've got to go into this game and you're going to leave everything out on the ice," Berube said. "You've got to empty the tank against them."

Which is why it's a huge game for both sides.

"It's huge," center Ivan Barbashev said. "I think the team is behind us by a point, so it's a really big game. We've got to be prepared. It's an early game and it's going to be a real interesting one. 

"It's just a fight for a playoff spot right now. We don't have a lot of games left. Every single game is real important right now I guess for both teams. It's going to be a really hard game for both teams."

- - -

The Blues made a forward tweak in practice on Friday at Centene Community Ice Center that will take affect for the game today, flipping Jordan Kyrou and Zach Sanford.

Kyrou will play with Tyler Bozak and Mike Hoffman and Sanford will play with Kyle Clifford and Barbashev.

"A little more offense and just a heavier line down there with Barbashev and Clifford," Berube said. "I thought they did a good job in the third period (Wednesday) too. Went out and had some good, physical shifts and heavy forecheck shifts."

Berube has liked Sanford's ability to defend.

"Yeah, he's a heads up player defensively," Berube said. 'He has a good stick and has good awareness out there."

The defensive pairs are expected to stick, with Jake Walman remaining in the lineup despite struggling in the game at times, especially early, against the Avalanche last Wednesday.

"I thought he played really well in the third period," Berube said. "He was more aggressive and used his feet more. I think the first period maybe backed off a little bit too much. Colorado's a good team, they're fast, got a lot of firepower, so you can understand that out of a young guy. But I think he's improving and getting better and better and the more he plays, the more he's going to feel more comfortable and the more he'll start to handle how quick the game is and how quick you've got to find the open guy and how quick you've got to move the puck and things like that."

Barbashev said he welcomes the addition.

"I think it's big because he's a really good player," he said. "He plays physical and I think with our line tomorrow. I think we're going to bring a lot of physicality. We've got to do our job out there. It's going to be really important and I'm looking forward to it."

- - -

The Blues will be looking to the line of Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Vladimir Tarasenko to get on track offensively.

That trio has had its moments but not enough to generate end results.

"They had some good looks. Schenn had some Grade A chances," Berube said, referring to the last game. "Schwartzy had a couple. Vladi shot the puck. It wasn't inside the dots where he needs to be, but he had a real good look on the power play and it hit the knob. I get it, it's a results business and we need results from them. I think the work ethic's there. I think they're close to breaking out, I really do. I think if they keep getting chances like they are, They're going to go in eventually."

Schenn is in a funk, without a goal in 16 straight games. He does have five assists.

"Sometimes you aim it too much and you don't just get it off quicker," Berube said. "It's one of the things I talked to Vladi about today was just getting the puck off quicker. Don't give the goalie time, don't try to aim it and puck corners so much. Have that shot mentality and get it off quicker. It makes it tougher on the defending team and for the goalie."

As for Sammy Blais, his play with O'Reilly and David Perron will keep him there, and Berube likes what he's seen.

"I do," he said. "I thought he had another strong game. He was aggressive and physical and he did some real good things with the puck, had a couple good looks, made some nice plays too with it."

Blais has not only helped with the forecheck and physicality on that line but is creating scoring chances.

"I think he's doing a great job," O'Reilly said. "I think s a line, we have to forecheck well and we're connected on that. I think he's doing a great job getting in there and being physical at the right times and reloading hard. You could just see we're starting to build something. We had a lot of good opportunities last game and the games before, you could just tell we're connected, we're working together. It's nice to see. He's a great player that's making good plays and working."

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Sammy Blais-Ryan O'Reilly-David Perron

Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Vladimir Tarasenko

Zach Sanford-Tyler Bozak-Mike Hoffman

Kyle Clifford-Ivan Barbashev-Nathan Walker

Torey Krug-Justin Faulk

Marco Scandella-Vince Dunn

Jake Walman-Colton Parayko

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Ville Husso will be the backup.

Robert Bortuzzo, Niko Mikkola and Jordan Kyrou are the healthy scratches. Robert Thomas (shoulder) and Mackenzie MacEachern (upper body) are out. Carl Gunnarsson (knee) and Oskar Sundqvist (knee) are out for the season. 

- - -

The Coyotes' projected lineup:

Clayton Keller-Nick Schmaltz-Conor Garland

Dryden Hunt-Johan Larsson-Phil Kessel

Lawson Crouse-Christian Dvorak-Tyler Pitlick

Michael Bunting-Lane Peterson-Christian Fischer

Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Ilya Lyubushkin

Jakob Chychrun-Alex Goligoski

Niklas Hjalmarsson-Jason Demers

Darcy Kuemper will start in goal; Antti Raanta will be the backup. Healthy scratches include Adin Hill, Jordan Oesterle, John Hayden and Derick Brassard. Jordan Gross (lower body) is out.

Blues' loss to Avalanche came down to missed opportunities, mistakes

Passing up prime scoring chances, robbed of a goal, not 

connecting on Grade A chances magnify mistakes in 4-3 loss

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Let's cut to the chase when it comes to the Blues' narrow 4-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

Sure, it was a nice comeback, and the Blues (19-17-6), who had their modest three-game winning streak snapped, were knocking on the door for the tying goal to at least get a valuable point, perhaps sneak away with two.

(St. Louis Blues/Scott Rovak)

Jaden Schwartz (left) missed this golden chance to score on Avalanche

goalie Devan Dubnyk in the second period of a 4-3 Blues loss.

But alas, it never materialized, and it was clear as day -- again -- why this Blues team, as frustrating as they can be on one hand and play like world-beaters on another, can't finish off games they should be finishing.

Because they can't score when it matters, or in the case of this night, they couldn't score enough when given opportunities.

Prime opportunities.

Oh, Mike Hoffman can; he scored two more goals and set up another giving him four goals and an assist in two games since he was a healthy scratch for two. But there were others that just, well, either refused to pull the trigger when given the opportunity or couldn't convert on primo scoring opportunities.

"I thought we passed up too many opportunities to shoot pucks tonight in certain situations," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "Even with the goalie pulled there at the end, I think that there's a couple of times there where we should be letting it go."

Let's start with the rash of chances, beginning with Tyler Bozak hitting the post breaking in on Dubnyk in a 0-0 game 1:43 into the game. Yes, that one was simply bad luck. But no dice nonetheless when Bozak's shot from the right circle after Justin Faulk's outlet pass.

What would a goal there have done for the Blues, who clearly had been playing some of their best hockey coming in?

Jaden Schwartz, who we'll get to again, had a 2-on-1 chance with Marco Scandella at 3:33 of the first period, but all his long-range wrister did was dent the logo of Avalanche goalie Devan Dubnyk, who was making his Colorado debut after being acquired from San Jose April 10.

With 11:02 left in the first, Vince Dunn, who did get the Blues on the board Wednesday, took a feed from Sammy Blais and missed the net from the slot.

OK, you ask, where are these missed opportunities? They're coming, but these are also scoring chances that were missed in a sense of not scoring.

Poor Sammy Blais, who undressed Ryan Graves before firing his point-blank chance at Dubnyk, had his chance stopped. Then a missed opportunity by Francis Charron, out of vision and perhaps out of position, didn't see that Dubnyk didn't have possession of Blais' shot with 1:18 left in the period before it was deposited in by David Perron, that should have counted, and would have given the Blues a 2-1 lead in a very well-played first period, but it was blown dead.

"Yeah, that's part of the game, though, boys," Berube said. "It's a quick whistle, probably shouldn't have been blown down, but there's nothing we can do about that."

"I mean that's part of the game, that stuff happens," Hoffman said. "You can't really let your emotions get too caught up in that stuff. That's the ref's call, they're judgment calls. Things happen."

Second period, where this game was won and lost, was a different story.

It started with 15:19 to play in the period when Schwartz was able to get into the Colorado zone and drop a pass to an on-rushing Vladimir Tarasenko, who you feel good about his chances of scoring with his shot, but instead of shooting, Tarasenko chose to ... pass? Isn't this guy supposed to be one of  this team's go-to scorers? A very peculiar decision to try and get the puck to Brayden Schenn, who's now gone 15 games without scoring.

The most obvious one came with 9:46 to play in the second when Zach Sanford and Marco Scandella turned a 2-on-1 into ... nothing.

Sanford perfectly sauced a pass to Scandella, and it's understood he's not the goal-scoring offensove-defenseman version of Paul Coffey, but Scandella's got to shoot a puck there. Instead, he tried going back to Sanford, who was tied up by Devon Toews and the Blues got nothing.

This wasn't Patrick Roy in his glory days in goal for the Avalanche. It was Devan Dubnyk.
Brayden Schenn had a point blank range chance with 7:18 remaining in the second, but his confidence scoring right now has to be as low as it's even been. He couldn't convert there, and it's now 15 games and counting without a goal.

And speaking of Schwartz, here it is, the one chance that summed up the Blues' night when he misfired off a give-and-go with Tyler Bozak with 2:36 left in the second.

Schwartz had it, gave it to Bozak, who returned the favor in the slot, but Schwartz didn't make Dubnyk pay for the real estate.

With 17:31 remaining in the game, Jordan Kyrou had a chance to shoot a puck when he cut into the right circle but instead, took it wide around the net and tried to cut a backhand back in the crease or on goal.

Another missed opportunity.

Schenn had a 2-on-1 chance with Schwartz and tried to saucer a feed to Schwartz over Cale Makar instead of letting it rip with 14:23 remaining. Once again, trying to make an extra pass instead of shooting against a goalie that had a 2-3-0 record, a 4.43 goals-against average and .845 save percentage against the Blues this season with the Sharks.

Want more posts? Well, Torey Krug got in on the act with 11:18 to play when he backhand effort off a rush hit the pipe and lay there before Samuel Girard swept it away.

And the last but not least moment when David Perron took a cross ice feed with 1:10 remaining and the Blues, who have the most sixth-attacker goals in the league this season with nine, down a goal. Instead of a one-timer, Perron dusted that attempt off and perhaps tried hitting Schenn in the slot for a redirection. 

A slew of chances to score, and the Blues did get three, but could have had so many more. 

In a one-goal game.

"We definitely had some," Hoffman said. "A couple 2-on-1's, odd-man rushes. We had our opportunities, but at the end of the day, it wasn't enough."

That's been a common theme for the Blues this season, not having enough, and that's been the case with the Avalanche this season, particularly in the past 12 days when the Blues and Avalanche played three times, and Colorado won each by a goal.

"I think you said it, I think it's a little play here, a play there," Hoffman said. "A lot of the times, every team is good in this league. It just depends on who can execute the best and the one that makes the least amount of mistakes. They're obviously a very offensive team and capitalize on any little mistake you make."

And if the Blues aren't shooting to score on a regular basis, instead trying to make the perfect play, or cute play, mistakes get magnified.

They have against the Avalanche, who have now won four of five against the Blues this season.

"Less mistakes, that's what it boils down too," Berube said. "When you're playing this team, you've got to understand that every shift matters when you go out there. You've got to compete and do your job. 

"In the second period, we weren't on our toes, like I said. They were quicker than us and we made mistakes and they capitalized on them. They're a very good team and you've got to do a good job and you've got to be on your toes all the time. You've got to play aggressive, like we did in the third period."

Yes, the Blues were aggressive but should have never been in the position to chase such a deficit (three). 

(St. Louis Blues/Scott Rovak)

Mike Hoffman, who scored two more goals Wednesday in a 4-3 loss to

the Colorado Avalanche, gets congratulated by teammates after scoring.

Costly errors (Jake Walman had himself a tough night on the ice and took a costly penalty, in particular, and Kyrou had a glaring mistake that led to Colorado's first goal) means the Blues will head into a showdown with the Arizona Coyotes, who trail the Blues by a point for fourth in the division, on Saturday.

"We can compete with anyone. It’s a tough league," said goalie Jordan Binnington, who stopped 24 shots. "Any team can win on any given night. But those are close games for us, and we’re right there. Just a little more. So it’s just pick ourselves up and keep working and keep focusing and playing together and hopefully it comes together."

It's down to 14 games left for the Blues. It better come together quickly.

(4-14-21) Avalanche-Blues Gameday Lineup

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The Blues are hopeful there isn't another change to the schedule.

But after having Monday's game against the Minnesota Wild postponed to May 12 because of curfew implications in and around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, the Blues (19-16-6) are hopeful that Wednesday's game against the red-hot Colorado Avalanche (29-9-4), who are 16-1-2 their part 19 games, will go on as scheduled after the Avalanche disclosed that a player had a positive test for COVID-19 testing on Wednesday.

Puck drop is slated for 6:30 p.m. (NBCSN, ESPN 101.1-FM).

"I'm preparing like it's going to be played," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "That's all I can do, and our team is. We'll just focus on that until we hear different."

The Blues are riding a three-game winning streak and would like to keep the momentum going after missing out on a game day Monday.

"I hope so. It's been a weird year with things like that, but you have to prepare like you're going to play," center Tyler Bozak said. "We obviously hope to play and I guess we'll see what happens. Kind of out of our control. We'll just prepare like we have a game tonight and assume that we do and go from there."

The Blues, who haven't had any players contract the disease but had two players come up with false positives at different times (Sammy Blais and Zach Sanford), have had their schedule altered at different points this season, including the next set of games against the Avalanche. They host Colorado here four of the next five games.

"We knew what we were getting into at the beginning of the year," defenseman Jake Walman said. "We knew this was always a possibility, but we have a deep team. I think we've shown that this year and anyone can play.

"I think a couple days off, a couple days rest is probably good for us. We're definitely on a high, but we know how to keep it going. Same preparation goes. We're looking to keep it going."

"It's been different for sure, not something that we're used to," Bozak said. "With all the canceled games and uncertainty with a lot of the days. Everyone's dealing with the same thing though. You just got to prepare every day like you are playing. I'm pretty sure everyone hopes that they are playing every single game when they're scheduled, but obviously things out of our control happen. We were prepared for that coming into this season."

- - -

The Blues will be strapped with the challenge of shutting down the hottest line in hockey too, which includes Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen.

That trio has tore the NHL up to the tune of 80 points (34 goals, 46 assists) the past 18 games, and MacKinnon, who has 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) his past 18 games, has a 10-game point streak (seven goals, 10 assists).

"You need five guys on the ice that when they get out there, you've got to understand the situation and make sure you manage the puck properly, make them play in their own end as much as you can," Berube said. "They have the puck a lot and when they do, you've got to check hard, you've got to make sure you have numbers around the puck. It's tough, but you've got to have five guys that are doing a good job out here checking them. You need everybody."

"We know they're a good line, one of the best in the NHL," Walman said. "... It's exciting to play against those guys. That's what we like."

Ryan O'Reilly has usually drawn the assignment of trying to stop, or slow down, the MacKinnon line, but when the Blues are going right, Berube won't hesitate utilizing any of his four lines.

"Obviously it's always exciting and fun, a great opportunity to play against the best players in the league," Bozak said. "It's always something that I personally enjoyed. You have to play your best to succeed in those situations and even if you play your best, sometimes they're going to find their ways to create opportunities and score goals. That's what the best players in the league do. It's always a fun challenge, something that I'm pretty sure everyone prides themselves on is playing against guys of that caliber and shutting them down. It's definitely not an easy task. Those guys, you can definitely tell by their points throughout the year that they don't get shut down often. You just want to limit their opportunities as much as you can."

The Blues have done a better job defensively as of late, only allowing four goals during their three-game winning streak, but Berube feels, despite a couple hiccups along the way, it's been coming for some time.

"I believe it's gone back to the San Jose series," Berube said. "I thought our hockey was coming there, played two solid games there. We got a hiccup in Vegas, that game for me the third period, I thought we went to Minny and then the two games with Anaheim at home, they're all winnable games and they're right there to win. I thought we played solid defensively in all those games, but we didn't win.
 
"You've got to keep checking, you've got to keep playing desperate, hard hockey and doing all those things, blocking shots and all those little things that are needed and then you've got to find a way to get the puck in the back of the net. Our power play got us a goal, which was huge and power play's got to keep producing and helping us win hockey games, that'll be important, and obviously the penalty kill's important. Special teams will be important here down the stretch, and we all know that."

"It's a full commitment," defenseman Torey Krug said. "It obviously starts with our goaltending and our defense, but our forwards have really committed to the backcheck and playing a responsible game. I think when you have everyone from top to bottom playing defense, you're going to limit the scoring opportunities for the other team and ultimately you're going to gain momentum for yourself offensively. I think that's what we've seen over the last few games."

Getting Colton Parayko, who was dealing with an upper-body injury, back on the blue line has certainly helped. He's played the past four games and found a niche playing alongside Walman to balance out the Blues' d-pairs.

"I think obviously missing a bunch of games there, you just want to come in and get your timing and stuff like that sorted out," Parayko said. "It takes a few games to get that all (down), the timing, different plays and all that stuff to just make it click. Slowly things are coming together, just trying to keep improving each game. That's my mindset and just keep trying to do my part to help the team win.

"With each game, my gaps are getting tighter, I'm closing guys out a little quicker in the d-zone. The first couple games, you're just trying to get your feet in there again and you're adjusting and making plays. As each game goes, you want to get more aggressive, get in the play more and keep improving each game. That's where my focus is and what I'll try to continue to do."

And don't think his teammates haven't noticed Parayko back in the lineup.

"It's a big help, I'll tell you that," Krug said. "He does a lot of heavy lifting on the back end and his presence, the way he moves up and down the ice. Last game, I mentioned something to him, it looked like he was closing quicker and he felt a little bit more comfortable to enter the corners and close out plays. When he's doing that, the rest of the game picks itself up. He's a big presence for us. It's exciting to have him back."

- - -

Center Brayden Schenn had to put his 700th game on pause Monday after the cancellation but will do so tonight.

The No. 5 overall pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2009 NHL Draft, Schenn has 458 points (191 goals, 267 assists) in 699 regular-season games and 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) in 59 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

He has 140 points (54 goals, 86 assists) in 184 regular-season games over four seasons with the Blues, and 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 35 playoff games.

"I think that he's the type of guy from a young guy in Philly when we had him, all young guys when they come into the league and they're high draft picks, it's about scoring goals, we know that, points," Berube said. "I think he's moved past that. He understands that it's a 200-foot game now. He's used in a lot of different roles, he's a physical guy, he goes out and he understands where the game's at during games, in-game, goes and grabs a guy and gets into a fight once in a while. It's all those type of things that he does that not a lot of players do, but he does all of them. He's still a very good offensive player. Yeah, he's going through a slump right now. A lot of players do. He'll find his way out of it, but he's really come around as a very well-rounded, 200-foot player now, leader. He's got an 'A' on his jersey for a reason and he cares about the team as much as anybody. He's a team-first guy. He's done a great job of that. He's a very intelligent guy when it comes to hockey and what's needed. Congrats to him, 700 games, a lot of hockey games."

Schenn is in a goal drought, though, currently. Despite his 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 41 games this season, he's been stuck on 12 goals for 14 straight games.

"He's a physical guy, he plays a lot of minutes in different areas and does things like that," Berube said. "He's a hard guy to play against for the other team from his physical play. He does a lot of things out there for that line. He's not scoring right now, but I believe it will come. He's the type of guy that if he gets one, he could score for a number of games in a row. It would be nice if he could get one tonight and get on a roll, but he contributes in a lot of other ways for our hockey team."

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Sammy Blais-Ryan O'Reilly-David Perron 

Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Vladimir Tarasenko

Zach Sanford-Tyler Bozak-Mike Hoffman

Kyle Clifford-Ivan Barbashev-Jordan Kyrou 

Torey Krug-Justin Faulk

Marco Scandella-Vince Dunn

Jake Walman-Colton Parayko

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Ville Husso will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Robert Bortuzzo and Niko Mikkola. Robert Thomas (shoulder) and Mackenzie MacEachern (upper body) are out. Carl Gunnarsson (knee) and Oskar Sundqvist (knee) are out for the season.

- - -

The Avalanche's projected lineup:

Gabriel Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon-Mikko Rantanen

Valeri Nichushkin-Nazem Kadri-Andre Burakovsky

Brandon Saad-Tyson Jost-Joonas Donskoi

J.T. Compher-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Liam O'Brien

Devon Toews-Samuel Girard

Ryan Graves-Cale Makar

Jacob MacDonald-Kyle Burroughs

Devan Dubnyk is expected to start in goal; Philipp Grubauer would be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Jonas Johansson and Carl Soderberg. Matt Calvert (upper body), Pavel Francouz (lower body), Erik Johnson (upper body), Patrik Nemeth (upper body) and Logan O'Connor (upper body). Bowen Byram is in COVID-19 protocol.

With Blues staying pat, it's up to players to finish job

Armstrong leaves roster in tact, believing team can get to playoffs; 

currently holds one-point lead on Arizona with 15 games remaining

By LOU KORAC
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Doug Armstrong can laugh about it now.

Sure, a three-game winning streak can soften the feelings of what was reverberating a week or two ago, but it was getting to the point where the Blues general manager's patience was being tested.

(St. Louis Blues/Scott Rovak)

Colton Parayko (55) said he feels it's up to the Blues not to finish the job

after GM Doug Armstrong chose not to make any deadline moves.

"Yeah," Armstrong said laughing. "I don't want to say 'Test your patience.' You want so much for the players to experience playoff hockey. You want so much for them to maximize the most in their careers. I don't want to say that I was any more frustrated than the coaches were, or any more frustrated than the players were. It was a collective frustration, but also a collective understanding that nobody really cares if you're frustrated or not. If you start to feel sorry for yourself or, God forbid, you're willing to say 'We'll get them next year.' If I had felt that was the indication, then there would have been a lot of player movement because our jobs are to fight to the bitter end until they tell us to stop fighting."

And with that thought in mind, Armstrong turned the page on another trade deadline without altering the roster, just as he did two years ago aside from adding a depth defenseman in Michael Del Zotto. 

Look how that turned out.

Not to say the Blues are well on their way to another repeat of 2019, that remains to be seen, and they have to make the playoffs first, but it's a vote of confidence to the coaching staff and to the players that management believes in the team to get to the finish line and then take their chances.

Of course there are other extenuating circumstances, like ramifications of what happens with the Seattle Kraken expansion draft this summer; the flat salary cap that has been and will hold in place at $81.5 million for the foreseeable future, and just not a lot of rentals available that could fit the price tag for what the Blues were perhaps looking for in a COVID-19 world.

Nonetheless, staying pat helped ease a lot of tension inside the locker room.

"For sure. Our group, we have a great group. There's no doubt," defenseman Colton Parayko said. "We're a group that's in there and we're determined to win. We know we have a very good team. It's definitely on us to make sure we show up each and every night to get the results that we want. Obviously you don't always get the results, even when you have your best game, but it's on us to at least to get out there and put our best foot forward, have our best effort every night to give ourselves a chance to win. We definitely believe in ourselves in there and we know we have a very good team. it's going to be exciting the last 15 games. Obviously a lot of good opponents, which is going to be good. It's good. It's going to be a good challenge for us going into playoffs and get ready for playoffs. We're ready to take that head-on and get ready for playoffs."

The Blues (19-16-6), who host the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday for the first time at home, are starting to see the pieces fit with the injured players returning to the ice and making an impact the more ice time they get.

So instead of making a knee-jerk reaction to what was happening during an 0-6-1 skid, which would have been justifiable had it extended beyond that, Armstrong saw what the coaching staff was seeing, and that was points of emphasis trending in the right direction, which makes it easy for coach Craig Berube to believe in the group as its currently constructed.

"I do," Berube said. "I think we've been playing some good hockey here for a while. I think the scoring's coming. We've got to continue to push scoring goals and finding ways to score goals, power play part of it, but I feel like some of our guys that were out a long time are starting to come around and find a groove."

(St. Louis Blues/Scott Rovak)

Ryan O'Reilly (right) and the Blues hold a one-point edge on the Arizona

Coyotes for fourth place in the West Division with 15 games left.

The Blues hold a one-point advantage on the Arizona Coyotes for the fourth and final spot among teams from the West Division with two games in hand. They play Colorado four times, Vegas twice and Minnesota five times among their remaining 15 games left, teams ahead of them in the standings. So the test will be stern, but what better way to be tested than playing some of the best should they get in with a group that's been in place all season?

"I think (Armstrong's) done a good job of putting the pieces in front of us," goalie Jordan Binnington said. "It's good. We're really coming together in the locker room and it's been a long season. We've had a lot of adversity. It's about staying composed and really playing hard for each other and playing together. Hopefully we can do that in the final stretch here."