For slumping Blues, long road trip offers chance to hit reset button
ST. LOUIS --The Blues' locker room didn't feel much like one that belongs to the team with the third-best record in the Western Conference on Tuesday night.
A few minutes before, a smattering of boos rained down from what was left of a sellout crowd as St. Louis trudged off the ice following a 5-2 loss to Montreal. It marked the first time they've lost back-to-back home games since a painful collapse at the end of last season.
Those fans won't see the Blues much for the next four weeks, as they play 11 of their next 14 games on the road. After doubling their season total with four home losses in 17 days, a change of scenery might be just what they need.
"I think it could be good for us, get some time together with the boys and start the snowball effect," says goaltender Jake Allen, whose loss to the Canadiens was his first since Dec. 27. "Build slowly and surely and it'll come together over time.
"Things aren't just going to switch like that. It's going to take a couple games to get back to our old self again."
Coach Ken Hitchcock spoke like he hardly recognized his team, which won 20 of its first 26 games at Scottrade Center. The Blues appear to have gotten a step slower at the point in the season when most opponents are kicking up the energy and intensity.
Both ends of the ice have been troubling during the recent struggles, which could be considerably worse without one outstanding performance each by Allen and fellow goaltender Brian Elliott. The Blues have surpassed their season average of 3.02 goals per game just twice in their last 11 outings, and they've given up more than their average of 2.48 six times in nine games.
"We're not paying any respect to defense, to managing the puck, to managing the proper way to play," Hitchcock says. "And then in the offensive zone, the sense of urgency that ... we've played with all year is not there."
They'll need to find it quickly to have a chance to win Thursday at red-hot Winnipeg, which has averaged more than four goals per game while going 4-0-1 over its last five games. The fourth-place Jets have pushed to within seven points of second-place St. Louis in the Central Division, while Nashville has nearly locked up the title at nine points ahead with just one more game played than the Blues.
Blues captain David Backes says it will take a collective group effort to recover from this latest swoon, matched this season only by a 1-5-1 stretch in December. The Note followed that with a pair of road wins that jump-started a franchise-record 13-game point streak, so it's not like they can't dig themselves out of holes.
"You win as a team, and we had a January which was fantastic, where we were getting accolades and we were spreading that around the team," said Backes, who scored Tuesday for his first point in five games. "Now we're in a little bit of a lull and a dip, and we're going to shoulder the load as a group and then the solution is spread between everybody as well."
Backes and alternate captain Alex Pietrangelo know that change starts with the leadership. They'll need to lead by example and play a simpler game, especially on the road.
Pietrangelo says he saw some positives against Montreal, particularly in the second period, but they didn't last nearly long enough. The Blues must put more faith in the hard-nosed game that got them to 80 points faster than all but two teams in the entire NHL.
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"We want to play a different way right now and it's really, really hurting us," Hitchcock says. "I don't know (why). That's probably a question you should ask in the room because those directions aren't coming from (coaches)."
Road trips are never easy, but the Blues' next five games include a pair of eminently winnable games. They'll face Edmonton, the worst team in the Western Conference, and Toronto, which has plummeted in the standings thanks to 19 losses in its last 22 games.
St. Louis was a perfect 12-0 against opponents that currently have losing records prior to a 7-1 loss at Columbus earlier this month. That brought a 12-0-1 run for the Blues to a crashing halt, and they're still trying to recover.
All-Star Kevin Shattenkirk recently started skating again on his own, but he's still weeks away from returning. Even if the Blues make a move to add another defenseman before Monday's trade deadline, they'll need a spark to come from the guys already in the locker room.
Or rather, they'll need to rediscover their mojo in a different locker room.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
