Blues could take first step toward next playoff level this week out west
ST. LOUIS -- If the Blues are to find success beyond the regular season, chances are good they'll have to find a way to win in Southern California.
St. Louis will have its first chance to take that critical next step in a three-game road trip this week featuring stops in Los Angeles and Anaheim, two cities where the Blues have lost all 13 games since Ken Hitchcock took over as coach in 2011. That includes five devastating playoff losses to the Kings, the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Saturday's trip to Phoenix might provide a bit of a respite, considering the Blues have beaten the Coyotes in five of six meetings over the last two years, including all three games in Phoenix. But if history repeats itself, that game might feel like one St. Louis really needs to avoid an ugly 1-4 start.
A year ago, the Blues got to take out some frustrations at home in a 5-0 win over the slumping Kings. But that ended up as the only win for St. Louis against either LA or Anaheim in six tries, even though the Blues finished third in the Western Conference behind the regular-season champion Ducks and well ahead of Los Angeles.
Those struggles haven't gone unnoticed by Hitchcock, who spent plenty of time in the offseason trying to figure out why his team hasn't been able to match up with the league's best. The Kings knocked the Blues out of the playoffs a year after winning the Stanley Cup, and last season Chicago did the same.
"We played some of our best hockey we've ever played, but we still lost and we've got to beat those teams and we've got to beat other teams that are good in the West if we expect to get to the next level," Hitchcock says. "That's the reality we dealt with all summer."
General manager Doug Armstrong helped out with the acquisition of Paul Stastny, as well as bringing in forwards Jori Lehtera and Joakim Lindstrom from Europe. Their talents have been creating additional opportunities for the offense, and Hitchcock says quality teams check more to maintain possession, especially in big situations.
The Blues should get a good barometer of their progress on that front when they return to the ice in Los Angeles after a four-day team bonding trip in Palm Springs, Calif., early this week. Perhaps no team hits smarter and more often than the Kings, who ranked first in the NHL with 31.8 hits per game a season ago.
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Nonetheless, St. Louis captain David Backes says the trend in the league has been tilting toward more of an emphasis on skating and shooting, areas where the Blues should be better with their newcomers and more development from young players such as Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko. Both have already scored and assisted goals in the first two games of the season, a narrow loss to the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers and a 4-1 rout of Calgary.
Like the Blues, both Los Angeles and Anaheim failed tough season-opening tests but won rather convincingly the last time they were on the ice. LA figures to have a good chance to extend its win streak to two games Tuesday night against Edmonton, and Anaheim may benefit from a day off Saturday while St. Louis plays in Phoenix.
It's still far too early in the season to make any significant judgments, and regular-season success clearly doesn't always translate to the playoffs. But for a Blues team hungry to send a message and establish itself as a true contender for the Stanley Cup, this week will be as important as October hockey can be.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
