Can the St. Louis Blues fly under the radar and into the playoffs?

Anthony Trudeau
Anthony Trudeau(atrud00)
Can the St. Louis Blues fly under the radar and into the playoffs?
Credit: Caean Couto-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Blues’ bold double signing of Edmonton Oilers RFAs Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, both former lottery selections, made headlines mostly because of its effect on the Oil’s Cup chances. Still, anyone who thought the offer sheets were merely an opportunistic raid on a conference rival hadn’t been paying attention to St. Louis’s summer.

Stanley Cup-winning GM Doug Armstrong knew that despite a 92-point finish in 2023-24, his group relied too heavily on bailouts from excellent goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. After finishing in the bottom five in high-danger chances created (642) and conceded (850) at 5-on-5, the Blues had to get quicker on the wings to create transition offense and tougher down the middle to keep their net-front area clean. 

They beefed up their flanks by bringing in quick two-way players like Alexandre Texier (12 goals, 30 points in 78 GP in 2023-24), Mathieu Joseph (11 goals, 35 points in 72 GP), and, eventually, Holloway. To become more defensively responsible, they recruited veteran penaltykillers Ryan Suter and Radek Faksa from the rival Dallas Stars before poaching Broberg to round out their top four opposite Justin Faulk.

The veteran executive came to training camp confident the additions would make his group a much tougher out in 2024-25. “I think we’re in a good spot right now where we expect to compete,” Armstrong told the Hockey News back in September. “[We’re] a team that’s trying to regain some stature in the league.”

During the first minute of St. Louis’s season opener on the road in Seattle, it seemed like all Armstrong’s moves were paying off for coach Drew Bannister and the Blues. 

Thirty seconds into the frame, newly minted second-line center Pavel Buchnevich charged through the neutral zone to test goaltender Phillipp Grubauer. When the Kraken recovered the puck and entered the St. Louis zone, Broberg forced longtime Blue Jaden Schwartz into a cross-ice pass that sniper Jordan Kyrou shoveled down the ice. Texier won the loose puck and slid it back to Kyrou, who struck the post with a venomous shot that briefly fooled the goal horn operator. It was high-octane, winning hockey, a perfect shift save for the finish.

Then, St. Louis failed to build on its (very) early momentum for most of the next half hour. After forcing Binnington to make 11 saves in the opening frame, Seattle had to wait only 28 seconds into the second period before a Colton Parayko giveaway ended in a goal by former teammate Vince Dunn.

Two minutes later, a smart tip from Eeli Tolvanen stretched the Kraken lead to 2-0, and it took an offsides call on a Jamie Oleksiak blast and a huge stop from Binnington after another Parayko turnover to keep it there. Only four teams have surrendered more five-goal games than the Blues since 2022, and it seemed they would suffer another route to begin their 2024-25 campaign. 

The difference this year was that they could take a punch without crumbling. During the past two seasons, they might have come unglued after the Kraken pinned them in their zone for most of the first two periods.

On Tuesday, they just needed a wake-up call. It came from scrappy fourth liner Nathan Walker, who initiated a fracas with Dunn before drawing a penalty on Adam Larsson. Franchise center Robert Thomas found Kyrou on a beautiful set play moments later, and, after a composed deke, the Blues were right back in it. Thomas and Kyrou have been Blues for ages, but the ambitious stretch pass was still emblematic of the new-look roster’s focus on striking fast and hard. 

After Broberg announced himself to his new teammates with a seeing-eye wrister to tie the contest, the game seemed to rewind to the first minute: another takeaway by Kyrou, another beautiful dish from Texier, and another golden chance for the $65-million man to put the Blues in front. This time, not even the post could deny him. After three tallies in 115 seconds, the visitors had cruelly spoiled a night that had been going so well for their hosts.

If their second-period flurry showed the Blues finally pose a threat on the rush, the final frame covered the second part of Armstrong’s offseason itinerary, buckling down on defense. 

Led by captain Brayden Schenn’s physicality (two blocks and a hit in the third), Thomas’s mastery of the faceoff dot (3/4), and a strong finish by Parayko (three blocks) St. Louis held Seattle without a shot for nearly 12 minutes to seal away the game. That sort of smothering defense would have been unimaginable 20 minutes earlier, let alone six months earlier.

The Blues did not put on a flawless performance at Climate Pledge Arena. Parayko was uncharacteristically sloppy, the Buchnevich line struggled to dictate the pace despite its creativity, and Binnington had to step up early and often. Still, if Armstrong’s agenda in the offseason was to use speed to build leads and grit to keep them, the season opener was a rousing success.

So, too, was Game 2 of the campaign, when Thomas, Schenn, and Co. flew two hours south to repeat the trick in San Jose, erasing another big deficit (4-1 after two periods) to secure a second-straight road win. The difference in that contest was that the Blues tilted the ice from wire to wire, controlling over 68% of expected goals at even strength despite the Sharks’ opportunism. 

Blues fans aren’t planning a parade down Market Street just because their team knocked off the so-so Kraken and lowly Sharks. They are, however, taking notice that Armstrong’s slow-and-steady retool has finally yielded a lineup with a blueprint to win games and the skill to execute it. 

In a division where the newly-christened Utah Hockey Club, Steve Stamkos-led Nashville Predators, and powerhouse Dallas Stars are all the rage, few experts have tabbed St. Louis to make a run. Based on the early returns, they might live to regret that.

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