With tough road ahead, Blues realize there's simply no time for complacency
ST. LOUIS -- The Blues took some critical steps during a two-day break to ensure inconsistent play and a humbling home loss don't turn into a full-blown slump.
After following a hard practice Wednesday with a day of rest, the Blues spent longer than usual in their morning meetings to prepare for back-to-back home games against Eastern Conference playoff contenders Boston and Pittsburgh. A 4-1 loss to Dallas brought serious concern for coach Ken Hitchcock and the Blues' leaders for reasons well beyond the ugly scoreline.
"I think this has been coming and we got away with it against Florida," Hitchcock says. "We got away with it against Arizona, but it's been coming and we've got to hit the reset button and get back to work."
The Blues won both of those games by 2-1 scores thanks in no small part to the outstanding play of goaltenders Jake Allen and Brian Elliott. They made up for lackluster offensive performances and Elliott even came up big in a shootout to hold off the Panthers.
Nonetheless, St. Louis has suffered three regulation losses in six games since breaking a franchise record with a 13-game point streak. The Blues have only two wins by more than a goal in 11 games since the All-Star break, and one of those came at last-place Buffalo.
Clearly, Kevin Shattenkirk's absence must be considered a huge factor in the recent struggles. No one can replace the nearly 23 minutes per game St. Louis got from its most productive defenseman before he went down with an abdominal injury Feb. 1.
But that doesn't tell the whole story, and Alex Pietrangelo says the other defensemen have actually done a solid job of mixing and matching. They've even shown some improvements on the power play despite scoring just five goals in 39 opportunities over the last 16 games.
"We've had a lot of different looks, obviously, personnel-wise, but I thought last game we had four or five really good looks that we could easily have scored, and maybe even more," Pietrangelo says. "When you don't score for a bit there, confidence goes a long way and we felt pretty good this morning in practice."
Better special teams would provide a nice boost for the Blues, who are 12-0-2 this season when outscoring opponents on power plays. However, that's hardly Hitchcock's biggest concern.
He's hoping to see more of an edge for the Blues on Friday night, one of the main reasons defenseman Petteri Lindbohm was called up from Chicago this week and will play in place of Chris Butler against Boston. It's clear St. Louis needs to find more energy from somewhere and keep that aggressiveness up throughout the game.
"We're checking for 30 minutes and then backing off," Hitchcock says. "This is a different team than last year. Last year was a counterattack team. This is a group right now, with the way we're built, we've got to play on our toes and we've got to stay on our toes."
That starts at the top with David Backes, and no one is more willing to take responsibility for the Blues' lapses than their captain. He knows how important it is for him and linemates T.J. Oshie and Alexander Steen to set the tone, something they did superbly in January.
One of those three forwards scored in 13 straight games before being held scoreless in five of the last eight, and only Oshie has a positive plus-minus rating for February. He's optimistic the chance to recharge will have the Blues focused for the final three games of their homestand, and center Jori Lehtera says they made some key strides in practice.
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"I think we have to play more simple and work harder," says Lehtera, who Hitchcock says may have needed the 14-day break he got due to a concussion. "We can't feel too good about ourselves, even though we're in second right now."
Despite a 5-2 loss at the New York Islanders Thursday night, Nashville looks nearly uncatchable at the top of the Central Division. St. Louis should be more concerned with getting back on track to hold off third-place Chicago, especially with a tough schedule looming.
Boston could provide the perfect opportunity for the Blues to bounce back. The Bruins have lost five straight and announced goaltender Malcolm Subban will be making his NHL debut at Scottrade Center. St. Louis also holds a 17-4-2 record against the East, although one of those regulation losses came at Boston in November.
But after visits from Pittsburgh on Saturday and Montreal on Tuesday, the Blues will be on the road for most of the next month. They'll play 11 of 14 away from home, capped off by a six-game road trip in March.
If their recent issues aren't solved, things could go south rather quickly.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
