Are the Blues good enough to make a serious playoff push?
With just over a month left in the NHL regular season, the race for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference is heating up.
One of the teams still in the mix is the St. Louis Blues. The Blues entered the season with the expectation of competing for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they did not necessarily get in. However, with just 17 games remaining, the Blues are right there.
Despite the coaching change earlier in the season, which saw general manager Doug Armstrong axe head coach Drew Bannister in favor of former Boston Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery, the Blues have managed to stay competitive despite not possessing any earth-shattering talent.
Behind solid goaltending from Jordan Binnington and production from the likes of Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Dylan Holloway, St. Louis is within striking distance of eighth place in the West.
As of Thursday, the Blues are fifth in the Central Division, two points back of the last Wild Card spot in the conference.
On Thursday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss whether the Blues have what it takes to make it into the postseason.
Tyler Yaremchuk: I feel like we’ve overlooked them a bit.
Frank Seravalli: I don’t…I think they’re one of the most mid teams in the league…They don’t have enough top-end talent. The players that they’re counting on to be their top-end talent in Kyrou and Thomas. There’s waves in their game, is the best way to explain it. They just don’t have the depth. They’ve gotten a great coaching job from Jim Montgomery since he took over, but I think the Blues are in one of the most precarious positions of any team in the NHL.
They had an opportunity to sell [at the deadline], which I think the fact that they even engaged in those conversations would tell you that Doug Armstrong really doesn’t like his team…I guess what I’m struggling to see in St. Louis is light at the end of the tunnel. How do you break out of this band of teams that you’re in from, say, anywhere from 14th to 20th? You’re not going to slide into the lottery conversation because you’re too good for that, and you’re not really in any position anytime soon to be a team that’s any better than that…an authentic threat to be a Cup contender.
Tyler: In terms of the playoff race, I found it interesting [in strength of schedule]. St. Louis has the easiest schedule in the entire NHL from here till the end of the season.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…