St. Louis Blues on The Hockey News

ST. LOUIS -- The stat line doesn't look all that gaudy for Alexey Toropchenko.

Except for that all-important goal.

But even looking past the goal he scored, which matched his career-high 10th of the season that he tied from last season, the regular fourth-liner, turned third-liner on Saturday, the big Russian had his motor scooting in the Blues' 3-1 win against the Minnesota Wild at Enterprise Center.

Toropchenko, who has 14 points in 60 games, always has his motor running, but on Saturday, he seemed to be flying at every turn and every time he touched the puck.

His goal at 6:34 of the first period with a tip in front off a Scott Perunovich shot got the Blues off and running.

"Right in front of the net and gets his stick on the puck," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "'Torpo', I thought he had a good game. I lost him a little bit during the game just with a lot of the power plays and I tried to make an effort to get him more involved in the third period because he's a good player for us. He plays to our identity, plays direct, he puts pucks underneath, he puts pressure on the 'D' and he uses his body well."

Toropchenko played just 9:30 in the game and he had only one hit and one blocked shot, but it seemed like every time he touched the ice, he was disrupting Minnesota's flow of moving the puck.

That's part of the hustle and bustle Toropchenko brought to the game and having the understanding of what these games mean these days.

"Every win is important for us right now," Toropchenko said. "Doesn’t matter who we play. I love to say that all the time now. Just very exciting that we won tonight. We just need to keep going and win as many games as we can."

ST. LOUIS -- Let's face it, with the Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings putting separation between those teams chasing them for the two wild card spots in the Western Conference, two of them being the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild, the loser of Saturday's 5 p.m. tilt (BSMW, ESPN 101.1-FM) between the Blues (30-26-3) and Wild (28-26-6), if they don't have an eye for the future, can probably begin to look in that direction.

The Predators can't seem to lose these days, after winning their seventh in a row Thursday by blasting the Wild (6-1), and the Kings impressively went into Vancouver and punched the Canucks in the mouth with a 5-1 win Thursday. Each leads the Blues by seven points.

Oh, and by the way, Nashville's run began here on Feb. 17 when they beat the Blues 5-2.

"The focus is one game at a time, doing our job and then watching the results come," Blues goalie Jordan Binnington said.

"We've got to get back in the win column quick and start making a good push," Blues center Robert Thomas said. "We've still got lots of time. Obviously they're making their push now. I think they've won seven in a row. We've got to start going and gaining some ground. We've got two games in hand on them and it's important to win those two and make it within three points. That's the way we're going to look at it. I think we're at a point now where we control our own destiny. We don't need to scoreboard watch and look at others. That's our mindset and the way we've got to approach it."

That's an understatement, and it's natural to be scoreboard watching these days, and with the NHL Trade Deadline a week away (March 8 at 2 p.m. CT), losing will give the respective general managers a sense of direction of which way to go.

"Yeah, but at the same time, you can only control what you can control," Thomas said. "I think that feel is still we control our own fate. We don't need to watch other teams and worry about them. We've got a big game against them later in the season. Just control what you can control and I think we're still in a position not to panic yet, but we need to get going."

The Blues do have two games in hand on Nashville and one matchup left with the Predators in April, but while the Predators and Kings are winning, the Blues are in a 2-5-1 rut that has put them in the predicament they're in.

With 23 games remaining, they're probably at a point where they have to put a winning streak of their own together.

"Yeah, but you can't think like that, right," Binnington said. "You know that's the case, but you've got to get one before you get three, right? Hopefully we can build some consecutive, consistent games here of just playing hard, playing the right way. We played hard last game (a 3-2 overtime loss against the Edmonton Oilers) and we didn't get the result we wanted. That's hockey.

"... You can focus on what you can control, right? It's just playing our game. We can't do anything about other teams and what they're up to. We've got to focus on ourselves, and we have it in here. We have the ability to produce and do great things and get into the playoffs. That's our focus."

Blues interim coach Drew Bannister was asked if it gets tough watching what's going on around them and not being able to do anything about it.

"I don't think so," he said. "If it's not them, it's somebody else. All we can do is worry about ourselves right here and not get ourselves watching the standings. We've got to win hockey games and take care of what we have to do and not worry about what other teams are doing."

That's why the game against the Wild is so critical.

"They're all big," Bannister said. "We have to be better in these games. Previous (ones), we haven't played well. Tomorrow's an important game for us and we have to be better. We certainly have to be ready from the start."

- - -

The Blues practiced Friday at Enterprise Center and captain Brayden Schenn, who took an awkward spill in the third period Wednesday and got tangled up, did not skate with the group.

Schenn did come in the ice late when the Blues were entertaining Ronan Moore, a Make-A-Wish 15-year old fan that battled leukemia.

"Just a maintenance day today," Bannister said. "He was out at the end, kind of skating alone, by himself, and he'll skate again in the morning. I don't foresee there being any issue moving forward with it."

- - -

With the way the lines and defensive pairs were rolling and Scott Perunovich back manning the second power-play unit, it appears the defenseman could at least be returning after being a healthy scratch Wednesday.

As for forward Kasperi Kapanen, also a healthy scratch Wednesday, it's unknown at this point if he rejoins the lineup.

"The guys that missed some ice time in Detroit played well for us," Bannister said, referring to Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. "That was a good sign. Certainly at this time of the year, I don't think we should be having these kind of conversations. These are meaningful games, these are games where you should be coming to the rink and having fun and guys should just have to play. So we shouldn't be having these conversations, but we are. We'll see the response we get from some of those players tomorrow."

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou

Brandon Saad-Brayden Schenn-Jake Neighbours

Zachary Bolduc-Kevin Hayes-Alexey Toropchenko

Nikita Alexandrov-Oskar Sundqvist-Nathan Walker

Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko

Torey Krug-Justin Faulk

Marco Scandella-Tyler Tucker

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Kasperi Kapanen, Tyler Tucker and Sammy Blais. The Blues report no injuries.

- - -

The Wild's projected lineup:

Kirill Kaprizov-Joel Eriksson Ek-Matt Boldy

Marcus Johansson-Marco Rossi-Mats Zuccarello

Brandon Duhaime-Connor Dewar-Ryan Hartman

Jake Lucchini-Frederick Gaudreau-Vinni Lettieri

Jacob Middleton-Brock Faber

Jonas Brodin-Declan Chisholm

Jon Merrill-Zach Bogosian

Marc-Andre Fleury will start in goal; Filip Gustavsson will be the backup.

Healthy scratches could include Alex Goligoski, Mason Shaw and Dakota Mermis. Marcus Foligno (lower body), Pat Maroon (back) and Jared Spurgeon (hip) are out.

Related: Player to watch vs. Wild: Justin Faulk

ST. LOUIS -- In the two games that Justin Faulk has returned from a lower-body injury, he has played over 20 minutes in each.

That's good news for the St. Louis Blues defenseman, who missed 12 games after being injured Jan. 23 against the Calgary Flames.

Now that the Blues have turned the calendar to March and games continue to be magnified, they will need someone other than Colton Parayko and Torey Krug to provide some offense from the Blue line.

Faulk has just two goals in 42 games this season, but he's had a combined six shots on goal in the two games since he's returned, and he's jumped into the rush when opportunities present themselves.

If the Blues are going to make any kind of last gasp here, Faulk's presence at both ends of the ice will be essential.

Faulk has 18 points, including 12 since joining the Blues, in 31 games against the Wild, including a goal and an assist the last time Minnesota visited Enterprise Center.

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues are surrounded by anxious times each and every day they step on the ice.

And with the NHL's Trade Deadline just a week away on March 8, those times tend to be nervy and up the ante on those an anxious moments not knowing if players are going to be coming or going.

But on Friday, those moments took aback seat to 15-year-old Ronan Moore, a Make-A-Wish fan that battled Leukemia, who got to spend the morning and participate with the Blues during their daily practice activities, including on-ice drills and team meetings; he signed a one-day contract.

View the original article to see embedded media.

"It was nice to have to have Ronan here, have him around the dressing room, bring him into the meetings and meet the guys and have him out on the ice," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. 'It was nice to have him here today."

Moore, who at different times wore a Jordan Kyrou jersey and a Brayden Schenn jersey, was joined by his parents, Robert and Aimee for the day. He got to partake in drills at the end of practice, including working with Schenn on the ice.

The effort was there. The mistakes were minimal. The goaltending did its part once again.

View the original article to see embedded media.

But in the end, it was a tough loss for the St. Louis Blues, 3-2 in overtime, against the Edmonton Oilers when Connor McDavid capped off a three-point night with a goal with 25.3 seconds to play in the extra session as the Oilers (35-20-2) overcame a 2-0 deficit within the first five minutes.

The Blues (30-26-3) got the production from their top line once again, which accounted for both goals but it was a game in which the Blues failed to capitalize on gaining an early lead, didn't back up the stellar goaltending of Jordan Binnington (32 saves) and dropped their third straight game (0-2-1), sixth in eight (2-5-1).

Let's jump into the three keys to a tough loss for the Blues:

1. Failed to execute possession, ensuing bad line change -- Against a team like the Oilers, mistakes have to be minimal, and the Blues didn't have many, and when they did, Binnington was there to make the saves.

But on one particular play early in the second period, there are veteran skaters on the ice that should know better.

It starts with Colton Parayko with a puck on his stick, and knowing he and partner Nick Leddy were in need of a change, make sure to get the puck to the forwards so possession isn't lost and go off with no issues.

But Parayko instead of getting a puck straight to either Jake Neighbours or Alexey Toropchenko, who were on the ice, he hoisted a puck in the air, Neighbours was in offside, so the two Blues forwards didn't attempt to play the puck.

Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard had his pick of the litter with three Blues inexplicably anyway going off for a change; he had Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman with free real estate up the left side. And although Justin Faulk and Torey Krug tried to get on after the ill-advised change, Hyman was knocking in McDavid's pass past a diving Binnington, who got a piece of the shot with his outstretched glove, to tie the game 2-2 at the 4:54 mark to erase what the Blues had built.

2. Costly late-period penalty -- The Blues, for a change, had managed a first period well. They had built themselves a nice 2-0 lead on the second of back to back games and were on the verge of a two-goal lead heading into the second period.

But a costly, unnecessary tripping minor on veteran Kevin Hayes at 18:08 of the first period put one of the league's lethal power-play units on the ice, and eight seconds later, a 2-0 lead was 2-1 when Hyman was scoring the first of two goals.

It was a momentum swing, one that could have been avoided. 

3. Not converting on scoring opportunities --  Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich gave the Blues a 2-0 lead 4:49 into the game, scoring twice in 2:30, to set the early tempo.

They would be two of several quality scoring chances that the Blues had for the game. Unfortunately for them, there were chances to extend the lead, and opportunities to extend their lead.

And then there was Zack Bolduc, who had a terrific chance in the third period of a 2-2 game that Stuart Skinner made a fantastic blocker save on, or how about the Thomas shorthanded breakaway that he never got a shot off on because he was caught from behind by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

It was another one of those games in which one shot would have made the difference, and in an all-too-familiar situation, someone other than the top line needed to step up and didn't get the job done.

The Hockey News Archive

The St. Louis Blues will take the point, probably begrudgingly after their 3-2 overtime loss against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Wednesday, squandering an early two-goal lead.

But there there was plenty of effort in this one, plenty of solid performances. The Blues (30-26-3) just got beat by the best player, arguably, on the planet when Connor McDavid scored with 25.3 seconds left in the extra session.

Robert Thomas continued to pile up the points with a goal and assist, Jordan Kyrou had two assists, Pavel Buchnevich stayed hot with his seventh goal in seven games and Jordan Binnington was rock solid with 32 saves.

Unfortunately, the Blues are winless in three straight (0-2-1) and fell to 2-5-1  in their last eight games. They moved within five points of both the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators but they need to start bagging two points on a regular basis if they want to stay in this playoff race in the Western Cobference.

Let's break the game down with the crucial moments in the three-period takeaways:  

* First Period -- All the talk about one team played last night, the other was sitting there resting, I don't buy into all that.

So by that logic, the Oilers should have been all over the Blues.

Well, someone forgot to tell the Blues that.

Leon Draisaitl high-sticked Nick Leddy 2:05 into the game and Thomas scored 14 seconds later to make it 1-0 on a wicked shot from just inside the right circle, his 20th of the season to match his career high first set in 2021-22.

Thomas won the face-off, then the Blues were able to work it around the perimeter to Thomas, who stepped into open ice, changed his shooting angle past Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse to wire a wrister top shelf.

oh the sweet, sweet sound of a bar down power-play goal. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/Zv5Yc7462O

The Blues kept the foot on the gas and Buchnevich stayed hot, scoring his seventh in seven games and kept his rumored trade value high when he made it 2-0 at 4:49 after the top line gained the zone, Thomas' initial shot was wide, but Jordan Kyrou was able to find it behind the net, Feed Buchnevich in the slot for the finish off Draisailtl's stick and over Stuart Skinner.

Here's a tweet you've seen before - Pavel Buchnevich scores again. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/uERxt0nIhR

The Oilers started to tilt the ice and had their first great chance off a 3-on-1, but Marco Scandella played it well going down and taking the passing lane away, and Alexey Toropchenko's back-check also prevented Ryan McLeod from getting a chance on the play at 11:40.

Then Binnington was called into action; he made two big stops on consecutive shots. One on Brett Kulak, then Warren Foegele's rebound from the slot at 16:30.

Jordan Binnington has all the answers (and the save of the game so far).@pncbank | #stlblues pic.twitter.com/gHobcFUhlx

He then made a right pad save when McDavid was able to cut into the slot at 17:28 to stay locked in.

But then Kevin Hayes takes a bad penalty late when he tripped Evan Bouchard at 18:08, and true to form, the Oilers cut the lead to 2-1 eight seconds later.

Hyman got inside position (remember this two weeks ago?) on Nick Leddy at the front of the net, took McDavid's pass from the corner and on the second chance was able to backhand one past Binnington.

The Oilers had 12 of the final 16 shots of the period and outshot the Blues 12-8.

* Second Period -- Two weeks ago, the Blues played arguably their best period of hockey when they outscored Edmonton 4-0 and took control of the game, 5-2, when they entered the second trailing 2-1.

The Blues had another mistake-prone moment when Colton Parayko hoisted a puck high, it wound up being offside, and instead of someone holding his ground, Parayko, Leddy and Thomas went off on a risky line change, Bouchard is able to up the puck to McDavid, and he and Hyman make no mistake in tying the game 2-2 at 4:54, a chance Binnington got a piece of outstretched with his glove.

The game started to slow down a bit, which favored the Blues, and they gained a second power play when Nurse hoisted a puck into the stands for delay of game at 14:30, and they could have had a couple terrific chances but Torey Krug doesn't connect with Buchnevich in a shooting position in the slot, and Kyrou had Thomas in stride and put the pass through his legs and out of the zone.

The Blues had a late chance when Oskar Sundqvist and Kyrou took off on a 2-on-1 but Bouchard made a terrific defensive play batting down Sundqvist's pass to Kyrou but ultimately, took an interference penalty at 20:00 and the Blues began the third with fresh ice and a third power play.

Edmonton had a 23-19 shots advantage at the end of two.

* Third Period -- It was another start to a period where each team was almost feeling each other out, and the Blues did nothing with the fresh ice and produced no shots on their latest power play. 

But when Kulak's right point shot hit the cross bar, the Blues had an odd-man rush and Skinner turned into his inner Binnington and made a terrific blocker save on Zack Bolduc's point blank chance at 4:35.

Binnington wanted to do his part and again, he did when the Blues failed to get a clearance, Binnington thwarted Draisaitl's one-timer from the right circle at 8:35.

You have McDavid and Draisaitl but we have Binnington. pic.twitter.com/K7OtMYaeYm

Sundqvist high-sticked Evander Kane and got two for high-sticking, although he could have been nabbed for a double-minor with blood at 8:35, but the penalty kill was exceptional on that kill.

Thomas had the game on his stick when he had a shorthanded breakaway, but he never got the shot off when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hustling back caught up to Thomas, who slowed down on the play and stripped the Blues center of the puck.

The game went to OT with the Oilers leading 32-31 in shots.

* Overtime -- There was a lot of puck possession, not really a track meet but in spurts, and when Jake Neighbours and Brandon Saad had consecutive shots stopped late in OT, it was a chance for perhaps the Blues to keep possession when Neighbours retrived the loose puck along the wall with 1:16 remaining, but he lost it there to Nugent-Hopkins, and the Oilers would keep it.

And in the end, McDavid cut around Thomas in the neutral zone, then around Kyrou's stick and beat Binnington from the left circle off the goalie's left shoulder and jersey with 25.3 seconds remaining to give the Oilers the win.

CONNOR MCDAVID SHOOTS THE PUCK AND WINS IT IN OVERTIME 🚨

HIS FIRST GOAL IN 11 GAMES 🤯 pic.twitter.com/WmXmIULFHl

It was another gut-check kind of game for Robert Thomas.

Not just Thomas, but for his linemates, too, Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou.

Playing the second of back-to-back games against the high-flying Edmonton Oilers, what would the Blues have in the tank?

It was evident, at least in the early going, that they were ready to play in this one. Unfortunately, it ended in a 3-2 overtime loss at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

The Blues (30-26-3) just got beat by one of, if not the, best players in the world when Connor McDavid scored with 25.3 seconds remaining in OT.

But for his efforts, Thomas had a goal and an assist, tying his career-high with 20 goals set in 2021-22; he won 12 of 23 face-offs a night after winning 22 of 34 and played played 22:34 in the game. He had a couple of takeaways in the game and a blocked shot.

Thomas now has 24 points (four goals, 20 assists) his past 16 games and has responded well after being benched for all but one shift in the third period at Detroit on Saturday.

He could have capped off a great night had he not been stripped from behind on a shorthanded breakaway by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, but I thought Thomas had a solid game.

Defenseman Colton Parayko was a solid second, playing nearly 28 minutes with a team-high five shots on goal (seven attempts), five hits, a takeaway and four blocked shots; Jordan Binnington was fantastic with 31 saves in the losing effort, but we're going with Thomas in this spot as player of the game.

This is starting to get away from the St. Louis Blues, and fast.

There's another chance to try and get into the win column on Wednesday but another game that won't be easy for the Blues (30-26-2), who have dropped five of seven after a 4-2 loss against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, when they take on the Edmonton Oilers (34-20-2) at 7:30 p.m. (TNT, ESPN 101.1-FM).

When the Blues doubled up the Oilers, 6-3, on Feb. 15, it was their eighth win in10 games and had them in a good spot in regards to the Western Conference wild card.

Fast forward 13 days later, the Blues find themselves trailing both the Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings for the final two wild card spots, and with the Blues sliding, they have been passed up by the Calgary Flames by one point, they remain tied with the Minnesota Wild with 62 points and the Seattle Kraken are one point behind the Blues.

Interim coach Drew Bannister is making two lineup changes, with forward Kasperi Kapanen and defenseman Scott Perunovich coming out, and forward Nikita Alexandrov and defenseman Tyler Tucker coming in.

For Kapanen, his ice time has drastically dwindled the past two games, 8:48 in a loss against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and 9:22 in last night's loss in which Kapanen had a costly turnover that resulted in Winnipeg's third goal in the first period.

Perunovich also had a coverage lapse that ultimately led to the Jets' fourth goal midway through the third period that sealed the win for the home side.

Drew Bannister discusses making changes to the lineup and what needs to go right to get a result in Edmonton in today's @Ford Gameday Report. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/353K4DuMvd

The Blues did not hold a morning skate at Rogers Place, and the lineup could be adjusted in the pregame, but based off a couple minor tweaks during the game Tuesday, could resemble something close to this:

The Blues' projected lineup:

Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou

Brandon Saad-Brayden Schenn-Jake Neighbours

Zachary Bolduc-Kevin Hayes-Alexey Toropchenko

Nikita Alexandrov-Oskar Sundqvist-Nathan Walker

Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko

Torey Krug-Justin Faulk

Marco Scandella-Tyler Tucker

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Kasperi Kapanen, Scott Perunovich and Sammy Blais. The Blues report no injuries.

- - -

The Oilers' projected lineup:

Leon Draisaitl-Connor McDavid-Zach Hyman

Evander Kane-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Mattias Janmark

Warren Foegele-Ryan McLeod-Corey Perry

Dylan Holloway-Derek Ryan-Connor Brown

Mattias Ekholm-Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse-Cody Ceci

Brett Kulak-Vincent Desharnais

Stuart Skinner is projected to start in goal; Calvin Pickard would be the backup.

The healthy scratch is Sam Gagner. The Oilers report no injuries.

Related: Player to watch vs. Oilers: Pavel Buchnevich

The Hockey News Archive

It's that time of year when names of all sorts, valid or not, continue to swirl, and for St. Louis Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich, his seems to be a hot topic.

But Buchnevich doesn't seem to be hindered by all the talk surrounding whether the Blues will trade him or not by March 8 or not; he scored again on Tuesday in a 4-2 loss against the Winnipeg Jets, giving him six goals in six games.

Buchnevich leads the Blues with 23 goals, and he had a goal and an assist when the Blues doubled up the Oilers, 6-3, when the teams met last on Feb. 15.

Buchnevich has six goals in his past six games and has nine points (four goals, five assists) in 11 games against the Oilers.

The Blues' top line with Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou have to continue to lead the way, and Buchnevich, despite a few up-and-down overall games in this last stretch that has seen the Blues (30-26-2) go 2-5-0 the past seven games, Buchnevich seems to be finding his groove and is THN's player to watch on Wednesday.

With each passing loss for the St. Louis Blues, and each passing win for the Nashville Predators, who are now even with the Los Angeles Kings with 68 points, as the two wild card entries into the Western Conference, those Blues' slimmer and dimmer playoff hopes are flickering away.

Such was the case after a fifth loss in seven games, 4-2 against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.

The effort and execution wasn't as bad for the Blues (30-26-2) as it was on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, a 6-1 beating, but some glaring moments during games continue to wind up in the back of the Blues.

Joel Hofer, who was making his debut in his hometown as an NHLer for the first time, made 28 saves, and did make a number of key stops throughout the game, was victimized on three of the four goals against, and to a certain extend, was on the receiving end of poor puck management by his teammates on another goal that he'd like to probably have back in the end.

Pavel Buchnevich scored for the sixth time in six games, and Brandon Saad scored his fourth goal in six games, but it wasn't enough to keep the Blues from falling into a hole filling with quicksand fast.

Let's dive into the takeaways and break down some of the crucial moments throughout the game:

* First Period -- The Jets are a fast and heavy team, a good mixture of speed and skill with some big bodies, and they had a good portion of the territorial play early on.

Once again, the Blues didn't gain their first shot on goal until the 5:37 mark from Jordan Kyrou; they were down 3-0 in the game Saturday before registering their first shot more than eight minutes into the game Saturday by Colton Parayko.

Blues defenseman Nick Leddy left the ice and missed the majority of the first period after he took a deflected shot off the mouth from Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov at the 4:41 mark.

Blues captain Brayden Schenn, who had some direct comments about the Blues' poor play Saturday, recognized this and saw an opportunity to try and jumpstart a flailing team and inject some life into it with a first-period fight against Jets captain and St. Louis-born Adam Lowry, who at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, has quite the reach, four inches and 10-plus pounds advantage on Schenn, who held his own quite nicely, as a matter of fact at the 6:53 mark.

We've got a scrap. 👀 Brayden Schenn goes toe-to-toe with Adam Lowry and gets some stick taps from the boys. #stlblues
Watch on the Bally Sports app, brought to you by @BommaritoAuto. pic.twitter.com/R28BuJj5oH

The fight only seemed to spark the Jets, who jumped ahead 1-0 when Sean Monahan's quick one-timer from the slot beat Hofer at 8:53 to make it 1-0.

Then at 10:20, Brenden Dillon beat Hofer from distance through traffic that made it 2-0. It came off a Mark Scheifele face-off win against Kevin Hayes to the point, and Dillon was able to beat a screened Hofer through two of Hofer's teammates, Jake Neighbours and Kasperi Kapanen.

It had the earmarks of another Saturday repeat, but Buchnevich scored 40 seconds later at 10:50 to make it 2-1 when he scooped in a rebound backhand at the net of a Marco Scandella shot from near the blue line beating Laurent Brossoit.

Buchy gets the rebound and the #stlblues are on the board!

Watch on the Bally Sports app, brought to you by @BommaritoAuto. pic.twitter.com/VH9tEgrrWM

The Blues were back in the game, but a backbreaking down by Kyle Connor came at 15:33 that made it 3-1. It came as a result of Kapanen, who along with Hayes each was a minus-3 in the game, turned the puck over inside the Jets blue line instead of getting a puck deep, the Blues were changing their defensive players and as a result, Connor had free reign to get to the left circle and pump a shot through Hofer that he'd probably want back.

The first period ended with the Jets leading 3-1 and 13-12 in shots.

* Second Period -- Leddy was back for the period, which was good news for the Blues, who had a push.

But first, they had to kill a Torey Krug hooking penalty at 2:10, which they did, but not before Hofer made a solid left pad save on Nino Niederreiter from the slot at 4:23 to keep it a 3-1 game.

Then Brossoit came calling with a solid save of his own on Buchnevich's one-timer from the right circle off a feed from Jordan Kyrou in a 2-on-1 at 7:32.

The Blues got the big goal they were searching for when Saad potted home a shot from the slot area, a loose puck, at 9:03 to make it a 3-2 game after Schenn's forecheck and subsequent turnover by Jets defenseman Nate Schmidt. Schenn won the puck and threw it to the net where Neighbours was crashing, he got a shot away and Saad collected the loose change to finish.  

Nice work, Saader! It's a one-goal game once again. #stlblues

📺: Bally Sports | 📱: Bally Sports app pic.twitter.com/zAOMOdJeBh

Niederreiter was called for hooking and the Blues power play had a chance to tie, and despite four shots on goal, were not able to. But also, Hofer kept it a one-goal game when he bailed out Hayes from an egregious giveaway in his zone, and Hofer gloved Alex Iafallo's attempt from the slot at 15:08.

WATCH
THIS
SAVE
FROM
HOFER 😱 pic.twitter.com/WoIERPrO0S

The Blues were able to get 15 shots in the period and led 27-26 after two but trailed by one with 20 minutes to go.

* Third Period -- They were looking for a push but had to go to the kill when Schenn tripped Mark Scheifele behind the Winnipeg goal 1:02 in but were able to get a kill with no shots surrendered. 

It was Mason Appleton's turn to sit in the box when the Jets forward roughed up Scott Perunovich at 3:46, but the Blues' second power play went by with no key scoring opportunities. 

The Jets did have one on a 2-on-1 but Lowry shot high after Morgan Barron blocked a Perunovich point chance.

Oskar Sundqvist was going to sit for two for interference at 6:04 to give the Jets their third power play, but Scheifele negated it with a unsportsmanlike conduct minor for throwing Sundqvist down.

The backbreaker goal for Winnipeg came at 10:13 when Iafallo scored his first goal in 21 games off a rebound to make it 4-2.

It started with a Buchnevich backhand giveaway in the neutral zone trying to hit Kyrou with a pass, and the Jets were putting it right back in the Blues' zone. With Perunovich having a beat on the puck, he was beaten to it by Monahan, who got it to Nikolaj Ehlers, and the Jets forward cut past Kyrou into the slot to get a shot off. Scandella, who saw what had happened, made a late decision to try and challenge the shooter while having Iafallo tied up in front. Perunovich was caught puck-watching and was late coming in to help and Iafallo was able to poke the puck past Hofer.

The Blues did pull Hofer with 3:49 remaining and had quite a bit of territorial play at 6-on-5 but could not get anything past Brossoit, who made eight saves after the Blues' goalie was pulled.

Jets defenseman Neal Pionk high-sticked Schenn with 40.5 remaining in the game, but the Blues' power play finished 0-for-3 with six shots. They outshot the Jets 38-32 for the game.

It had to be better for the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

A repeat of that dreadful first period Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings couldn't have been in the cards again, right?

Well, it wasn't quite as glaring, but the mistakes were there once again, they were chasing the game after allowing three more goals in a 4-2 loss against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.

The Blues (30-26-2), who were swept in the season series against the Jets, losing all three by a combined 13-6, have been outscored 7-1 the past two first periods and were chasing the game once again 

Winnipeg is one of the stingiest teams in the NHL and that's not a team the Blues could afford to do that against.

Let's jump into the three keys:

1. Mistakes magnified in first period again -- It wasn't as porous as Saturday in Detroit, but the Blues were mistake-prone in the opening 20 minutes and it cost them again.

Even after captain Brayden Schenn got into a heated scrap with fellow captain, Jets forward Adam Lowry, it didn't take long for the Blues to fall behind instead of using that as a motivating factor when their leader leads by example.

Case in point on the first goal, the Jets were able to drive the zone and collect two loose pucks off shot attempts without the Blues getting to one of them, then Sean Monahan was somehow able to get into a soft spot in the slot while defensemen Torey Krug and Justin Faulk, who returned after missing 12 games with an upper-body injury, were both drawn down too deep towards their net, then Faulk made an attempt to block the shot but in essence, screened goalie Joel Hofer on the play, and the Blues were chasing again.

When Brenden Dillon scored from the point, Mark Scheifele won a face-off with Kevin Hayes in the Blues' zone, but as they tried collapsing on the puck, Jake Neighbours and Kasperi Kapanen each obstructed Hofer's view of the shot, and it's 2-0 midway through the first.

Pavel Buchnevich got the Blues back in the game when he scored to make it 2-1 just 40 seconds after Dillon's goal at 10:50, Winnipeg's third goal by Blues killer Kyle Connor was a killer.

With possession, Kapanen, who had another poor game to follow up Saturday's third-period benching in Detroit, instead of getting a puck in deep and going to work, tried making a play to Brandon Saad and the puck was picked off just inside the Jets zone.

The problem was the Blues' D was making a change, and in essence, Connor was off to the races while Colton Parayko and Marco Scandella were trying to get into the play, and nearly did. But Connor's shot from the left circle got through Hofer, a shot I felt he should have saved, made it 3-1.

But it was more preventable mishaps that had the Blues down after 20 once again.

2. Poor puck management -- There's no in between with the Blues when it comes to managing the puck. They're either really good, or they're really bad.

It wasn't egregious Tuesday, but it wasn't good enough. 

Pucks weren't on the tape regularly, they were in double digits in defensive zone turnovers again, and against the Jets, they make teams pay for puck management issues.

The Blues missed the net 18 times in the game, which is too many, and that stems from poor puck management and lack of zone time when they miss the net as often as they did.

3. Need to bear down on scoring chances -- The Blues did outshoot the Jets 38-32 for the game, and the volume was there, including a 75-61 Corsi-for advantage. 

But they just didn't bear down enough on their prime scoring chances, either missing the net, as mentioned above with the 18 missed shots, or not pouncing on rebounds left by Jets goalie Laurent Brossoit.

Brossoit left a big rebound on Buchnevich's goal in the first and left a number of others, but the Blues just didn't bury the chances they did get against a very stingy side.

The St. Louis Blues should have learned their lesson the last game when they came out porous and flat in a lopsided loss against the Detroit Red Wings.

It was more of the same on Tuesday in a 4-2 loss against the Winnipeg Jets, the Blues' fifth in seven games, but for captain Brayden Schenn, he was seeing it before the first period breakdowns would begin.

Schenn, my player of the game, squared off with Jets captain Adam Lowry, who is listed at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, or four inches and 11 pounds heavier and with a longer reach that Schenn, who by the way held his own quite nicely in the tussle at 6:53 of the first period that forced Lowry to head to the locker room for unknown reasons, perhaps for some repairs of some sort.

We've got a scrap. 👀 Brayden Schenn goes toe-to-toe with Adam Lowry and gets some stick taps from the boys. #stlblues
Watch on the Bally Sports app, brought to you by @BommaritoAuto. pic.twitter.com/R28BuJj5oH

But it wasn't long after that when the Blues (30-26-2) started making mistakes, fell behind 3-1 and were chasing a game they were close to catching at one point but would not do so.

As for Schenn, he created a nice, solid forecheck that created a turnover and resulted in a Brandon Saad goal at 9:03 of the second period to cut the Winnipeg lead to 3-2.

Schenn finished with a plus-1 (the only plus player for the Blues on the night) with three shots on goal and was 50 percent (5-for-10) in the dot.

He should be commended for trying to light the spark his team needed, but as usual, his teammates didn't back up their captain, which also warrants a valid question: why does Schenn seemingly always need to be the guy to light a fire when necessary?

That's a debate for another time, but for Tuesday, he's my player of the game.

Even though hypotheticals can go a number of different ways, let's play one here anyway as the St. Louis Blues (30-25-2) open a back-to-back set against the Winnipeg Jets (36-15-5) today at 7 p.m. (BSMW, ESPN 101.1-FM) at Canada Life Centre.

When the Blues hosted the Nashville Predators on Feb. 17, a win would have put the Blues six points ahead of the Predators, a pretty good hill to climb in the chase for the Western Conference wild card.

But a 5-2 loss in that game set the Predators on a blazing trail of five straight wins, they pulled within two points of the Blues on that day, and 10 days later, the Blues are now chasing Nashville, four points behind the Predators, tied in points (62) with the Minnesota Wild, and one point ahead of the Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames.

The Blues have lost four of six games after Saturday's embarrassing 6-1 loss against the Detroit Red Wings and now go into a two-game stretch here against the Jets and Edmonton Oilers, then get the red-hot Wild in town on Saturday.

The standings matter, and the players are paying attention, as they should be. Yeah, giddy-up.

"Obviously right. We look at it every day," Blues forward Jordan Kyrou said. "We're right there fighting with like four, five teams right now. Pretty much we're in the playoff grind right now."

The Blues have, in recent months, responded well to losses, especially when those losses look as dreadful as the one on Saturday. They better be moving forward, but the narrative should be that if they want to stay in this race, there shouldn't -- and can't be -- any clunkers like the ones that have been there the past 10 games.

"I feel like we've responded well," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "If you look at coming off both Toronto games where we didn't play well, we came out against Edmonton and played well. Nashville game we didn't play well, played well against the Islanders. Typically, when we haven't played well, especially against good teams and we played well, I expect that response again, and I'm sure if you ask the players, they're going to be ready for that game."

The theme on Monday at practice was coming right out of the gates and battling with some heavy contact drills, working the walls, winning puck battles.

The Blues most certainly didn't have that when they fell behind 33 seconds into the game Saturday and were down 3-0 before the folks at Little Caesars Arena had the chance to settle into their seats. It was 4-0 by the end of the first period, and it was game over.

"We have to be more competitive right from the start," Bannister said. 'Starting that in practice sends a message of when it comes game time, when the puck drops, we've got to be ready to compete and battle for pucks.

"I thought the guys worked hard. It wasn't an easy day by any means, it wasn't a flow day. There was, if you were watching, a lot of forechecking drills, a lot of drills where there was contact. I thought the guys competed hard. That's something that moving forward that if we're going to have success, whether it's starting on time and making sure we're coming up with more pucks, winning wall battles and getting to our forecheck, we're more direct, can sustain more offense for us, more time in the offensive zone."

- - -

Blues defenseman Justin Faulk, who was activated off long-term injured reserve on Monday after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury, will return tonight and play alongside Torey Krug.

- - -

Let's see how the players that were benched in the third period on Saturday (Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Kasperi Kapanen) respond tonight. Bannister and Kyrou addressed it following practice on Monday.

Despite being benched on Saturday and playing a season-low 12:03, Thomas comes into the game with 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) the past 14 games, with only three of those games with zero points.

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou

Zachary Bolduc-Brayden Schenn-Jake Neighbours

Brandon Saad-Kevin Hayes-Kasperi Kapanen

Alexey Toropchenko-Oskar Sundqvist-Nathan Walker

Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko

Torey Krug-Justin Faulk

Marco Scandella-Scott Perunovich

Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Sammy Blais, Nikita Alexandrov and Tyler Tucker. The Blues report no injuries.

- - -

The Jets' projected lineup:

Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Gabriel Vilardi

Nikolaj Ehlers-Sean Monahan-Alex Iafallo

Nino Niederreiter-Adam Lowry-Mason Appleton

Morgan Barron-Vladislav Namestnikov-Cole Perfetti

Josh Morrissey-Dylan DeMelo

Brenden Dillon-Neal Pionk

Dylan Samberg-Nate Schmidt

Laurent Brossoit will start in goal; Connor Hellebuyck will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include David Gustafsson, Rasmus Kupari and Logan Stanley. The Jets report no injuries.

The Hockey News Archive

Joel Hofer has talked about going to Canada Life Centre as a kid and watching the Winnipeg Jets as a fan.

A native Winnipegger, the 23-year-old goalie has faced his hometown team already, shutting them out on 33 saves last season at Enterprise Center, but this will be a different element.

Hofer will face the Jets in his hometown for the first time today at 7 p.m. and there will be, and should be, a different feel for him.

The spotlight will be on him, family and friends will be in attendance, and under such circumstances, I expect Hofer to perform well and at the very least, give the Blues (30-25-2) a chance to win the game.

Hofer comes into the game 10-9-0 with a 2.91 goals-against average and .910 save percentage, and it seems when the microscope has been placed on him, he's come out smelling like a rose.

It's been no surprise that a Blues goalie has been asked to hold the fort together. And I expect nothing short of a solid performance once again.

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Move over Vincent Trocheck, you have company.

The Saginaw Spirits of the Ontario Hockey League made sure of it when they retired the No. 22 worn by St. Louis Blues forward Brandon Saad.

The @SpiritHockey retire Brandon Saad's #22 🎥

The 2x Stanley Cup champion, who starred in Saginaw from 2010-2012, joins former teammate Vincent Trocheck as the only players to have their jerseys raised to the rafters at the @DowEventCenter 👏 pic.twitter.com/bgJLJCee2j

The Spirits honored Saad on Friday prior to their game against the North Bay Battalion at the Dow Event Center with family and friends in attendance.

"It's a huge honor," Saad said on Monday. "It was fun to be able to get back there, a lot of memories. Obviously to see your number retired, it's a huge honor."

The timing was right for Saad to make an appearance for the first time since he last dressed for the Spirit in the second of two seasons playing there. The Blues were playing the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and Saad was able to make the 1.5 hour drive north for the festivities.

View the original article to see embedded media.

"'Goose' [Spirit president and managing partner Craig Goslin] asked me to do it, but it's just finding a time to do it. It's an amazing experience. I got to have some of my family come down. Overall, it's just a great accomplishment."

Saad played two seasons with the Spirits from 2010-12 and registered 131 points (61 goals, 70 assists) in 103 regular-season games, and 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 24 OHL playoff games in what he called two of the greatest years he's spent in hockey.

"Yeah, leaving home and maturing as a person and as a hockey player, playing that amount of games, having success, it's always part of the goal to becoming an NHL player, so I think it was a huge part of it," Saad said.

Congratulations to Brandon Saad, whose #22 was retired by @SpiritHockey in a pregame ceremony this weekend. Saad is the second alum to have his number retired by the junior team. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/cGeDqzRP0l

Saad's banner was unveiled next to that of Trocheck, who currently is a center for the New York Rangers and who wore No. 89 in Saginaw.

"We're the only two and it's pretty cool and we're both Pittsburgh boys," Saad said. "It's pretty cool that we both get to have those up there together."

Saad has gone on and put up 482 points (243 goals, 239 assists) in 838 NHL regular-season games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche and the Blues; he's got 111 points (59 goals, 52 assists) in 206 games in three seasons with the Blues.

"Just enjoy the ride and have some fun," Saad said of what he would tell this generation of Saginaw players looking to make it in the NHL. "At times it gets tough, but it's a great thing to be a part of is being a hockey player, whether it's junior or in the NHL. Just enjoy the ride."

The Hockey News Archive

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Thinks went according to play for Zachary Bolduc.

Now the St. Louis Blues' 2021 first-round pick (17th overall) can focus on playing hockey.

In just his second NHL game, Bolduc scored against the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-1 loss.

The forward would have preferred it come in a win, but now Bolduc can move past the nerves, the anxiety, the anticipation of what that feeling feels like and settle in while learning on the fly.

Zack Bolduc's eventful week continues! Happy birthday, kid 🎉 pic.twitter.com/IEo6cbvfPo

"Feels good," Bolduc said Monday. "You always want to score your first goal as quick as possible. Pretty lucky I did it in two games. Now looking forward to winning important games coming up right now.

"I can just play my game now and try to help the team to win some games."

View the original article to see embedded media.

Bolduc scored in the slot against Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon.

"It was a 1-on-3. Just before that, [Nathan] Walker did a good play too to play a puck for 'Saader,'" Bolduc said. "They both did a really good play on that. I just went with the feeling and shoot where I think there was a hole there."

FIRST CAREER GOAL ALERT! Zack Bolduc with a birthday present for himself. What a moment! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/TNBr9SG43y

The messages were coming in left and right, including from his parents, who will be in St. Louis to see his first NHL game against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

"A lot of congrats," Bolduc said. 'Big day yesterday answering all day. (Parents) reached out and were so happy for me. They are really excited to come and see me play live."

Bolduc took advantage of Blues interim coach Drew Bannister shortening the bench in the third period after benching forwards Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Kasperi Kapanen and played 15:38, had five shot attempts, one hit and one blocked shot.

"I thought he played a good game," Bannister said of Bolduc. "He scored, but he did some good things. There were some mistakes in his game that he made as a young player, but I thought overall he played well. I thought he took advantage of his ice time that he got and it was a game that was easy because I thought he was doing good things. He was able to get a little more ice time and that's good for a young player like that to be able to play in those conditions (against) a good hockey team, contribute at least and get more ice time in situations where he can have success.

A souvenir that he'll keep forever. Félicitations @zack_bolduc! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/adrUb6BA2g

"I think he's still learning the game a little bit. There was times in practice today where I find him away from the puck a little bit more where he needs to support the puck and support his teammates a little bit more. That's just understanding the game and the situation, but I think overall when you look at the body of work over the last two games, he's done a good job of managing the game properly and being in the right spots and supporting his teammates. He's created some opportunities for himself offensively but hasn't hurt us defensively at all."

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- St. Louis Blues fans didn't take too well Monday when the team assigned defenseman Matthew Kessel to Springfield of the American Hockey League.

After all, the 23-year-old had made a favorable impression the moment he was recalled from the Thunderbirds on Dec. 30 to make his season debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But when Faulk was activated off long-term injured reserve on Monday expecting to make his return after missing the past 12 games with a lower-body injury, the easiest course of action in order to create a roster spot was assigning Kessel to Springfield.

Kessel is waivers-exempt, and other candidates [Tyler Tucker, Nikita Alexandrov, Scott Perunovich] all need to clear waivers in order to get re-assigned, and with Kessel's play flatlining here recently, something not unexpected considering it's the defensive position and a young player learning on the go, the Blues made their choice.

At least for the time being. But that doesn't say Kessel, who had two assists in 22 games this season, won't be back. As a matter of fact, he will.

"We've asked a lot from him," Bannister said of Kessel. "He's been playing top four minutes. We've thrown him into the fire here and he's played exceptionally well, but you do see it. His game's kind of started to draw back a little bit, his patience with the puck. You like his physicality, but now, plays have to happen quicker off his stick.

View the original article to see embedded media.

"For him, it's an eye-opening situation where now we're in the midst of some really important hockey games and it's a battle every night, every shift, every game is important. They're tough minutes that he's played and you can kind of see him in his development. He's learning to be a pro, he's learning what it takes to become a pro and how hard it is to become a good pro. But when you look at the body of work that he did, we weren't putting him in as a five or six defenseman. He came in and had to play tough minutes against real good players, and I thought nights, he excelled for that. As a young player, I think the drop-off is a little bit expected, but you'd like to see a bounce back a little bit quicker with 'Kess.' I think moving forward here, just his play, sometimes it's good to just get a reset and watch and take a deep breath and get yourself back where he needs to be."

Kessel played 15 or more minutes in 20 of 22 games this season, mostly on a pairing with Torey Krug and was a minus-4, including a minus-3 in Saturday's loss.

"I don't think they're bad habits. I think it's just his decision making's got to be quicker," Bannister said. "I thought when he first came up, he played within himself, he kept things simple, he got pucks up to our forwards, he was hard to defend. Now, instead of making that first play that was available, I think he's looking to upgrade at times and seeing if there's the next play. That's when you get yourself in trouble because the game happens so quick. And when you turn the puck over, it's coming the other way, then you're forcing yourself to defend, you're playing in zone and you're getting worn down. I felt like over the last couple weeks, that was kind of creeping into his game more often than not."

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Kasperi Kapanen were each on the ice for the St. Louis Blues on Monday for practice at Centene Community Ice Center just two days after being benched in a 6-1 thumping at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings.

Thomas and Kyrou each got a limited shift of less than a minute in the third period, while Kapanen didn't see the ice at all in the final 20 minutes.

Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Each player was back on his respective line Monday, with Thomas centering the top line with Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich, and Kapanen was on right wing with Brandon Saad and Kevin Hayes.

Thomas and Kapanen didn't speak to reporters after practice Monday, but Kyrou addressed the benching and said there's an understanding between the players and interim coach Drew Bannister, who benched Buchnevich in a loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier in the season and made defenseman Marco Scandella a healthy scratch.

"It was just a bad game overall by everyone," Kyrou said. "We just need to be better as a group. It's kind of like a message to everyone. It's playoff time, we've all got to be ready to play.

"I'm definitely more motivated for sure. It's the playoff hunt right now, so everyone's got to be on top of their games."

All three skaters finished the game with a season-low for minutes played, with Thomas playing 12:03, Kyrou 10:34 and Kapanen 8:48. The trio was a combined minus-5.

Robert Thomas: 12:03 ice time, minus-2, one minor penalty, 6./5 on face-offs, zero shot attempts.

Jordan Kyrou: 10:34 ice time, minus-2, one missed shot. #stlblues

"I talked to each individual player, as I would," Bannister said. "I'm not going to leave that alone. I think it's on me to explain it in person, face to face with them and what the expectation was and what my thought process was. And just so we're clear, those three players weren't the only players that didn't show up in that game. You don't find yourself 4-0 behind or 6-1 after the game and think that 17 other players were playing to their expectation. We need, whether it's the top players or the players supporting them, to meet their expectations, and there's going to be nights where they're not at their best. That's just over an 82-game season. You're not always going to get a perfect game out of them. But as long as the effort's there and the commitment to play a team game and what we're trying to do here, then there won't be an issue. But we felt at that time and as a staff and myself that there was a message that had to be sent. So we set the bar, and moving forward, it's going to be the same. The expectations are if you're not going to meet the expectations, you're probably going to play less."

The Blues, who are currently on the outside looking in as far as the Western Conference wild card four points behind the Nashville Predators, were behind 3-0 less than six minutes into the game Saturday, including 33 seconds into it on Saturday with both Thomas and Kyrou on the ice when Patrick Kane scored.

Bannister spoke to each individual and allowed the air to come out on both ends of what the expectations are and now the expectation is for each player to respond accordingly. He feels they received the message accordingly.

"Very good. They're professionals," Bannister said. "Let's be honest, I've been there before, I didn't like it. I don't like being that person on the bench that doesn't get to be out there and compete with your teammates. They're not happy with the situation, but they understand it, and they understand that they need to be better for our team.

View the original article to see embedded media.

"They're all character players. Not one of them weren't disappointed in themselves. I guess I leave it that. They expect more from themselves and I have no question that they're going to do everything in their power to make sure that we're ready to start and they're going to be contributors in a positive way for our team."

Thomas and Kyrou are each the highest paid players on the team making an average annual value of $8.125 million and it goes to show the coaches aren't going to give free passes out with the team in dire straits for points.

"Just like you said, it's a message to everyone," Kyrou said. "Going forward here, we're in that playoff push, we're in that grinder now. We've all got to be dialed in and ready to go each game. Every game's huge for us right now."

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Once the physical contact began, the writing was on the wall for St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk.

And not long after practice concluded Monday prior to a quick two-game trip to games Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets and Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers, the Blues announced that Faulk has been activated off long-term injured reserve from a lower-body injury and that defenseman Matthew Kessel had been assigned to Springfield of the American Hockey League to make room for the 32-year-old.

Faulk, who has missed the past 12 games when he was injured in a 4-3 win against the Calgary Flames, was paired at practice Monday at Centene Community Ice Center with Torey Krug.

View the original article to see embedded media.

"I think there's a good opportunity that we'll get him in one of the games, if not both of the games," Blues coach Drew Bannister said of Faulk after practice on Monday. "We'll see [Tuesday] how he's feeling after today. Today was probably the first full practice that he participated in where there was some contact and physicality. By all accounts, I think he felt pretty good coming out of it, but I think we'll wait and see how he feels tomorrow."

Faulk, who has 19 points (two goals, 17assists) in 40 games, also missed five games when he sustained a lower-body injury Dec. 29 against the Colorado Avalanche, then returned for five games before re-injuring himself.

Faulk has practiced for the past week, and Monday was his first full contact with the team.

It was over quickly.

The Detroit Red Wings wasted little time in putting the St. Louis Blues down for the count, and delivered the knockout punch before people could even get into their seats at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

In a lethargic display, the Red Wings (31-20-6) had the Blues (20-25-2) down three goals within the game's first 5 1/2 minutes en route to a 6-1 beating.

There was plenty of ugly to go around for the Blues, who have not dropped four of their past six after winning seven of eight and by the end of the day, could be on the outside looking in on the Western Conference playoff chase with just 25 games remaining.

Jordan Binnington, who was pulled after the first period, and Joel Hofer, were each made sacrificial lambs in a game in which the Blues just didn't come ready to play for a noon local time puck drop.

The lone bright spot was Zack Bolduc's first NHL goal in an otherwise forgettable morning and afternoon in Motown in front of a national television audience on ABC.

Let's get into the three keys of this loss:

1. Not ready from the drop of the puck -- The Blues must have missed when the puck was dropped because it was evident from the word 'go,' that they were not ready for this game.

They started the fourth line, which they've done regularly the past handful of games or so, but it couldn't get a puck in deep, and after a quick line change, the Red Wings were off to the races against the flat-footed Blues, and nemesis Patrick Kane made it 1-0 just 33 seconds into the game, and it was a prelude of things to come.

2. Poor puck management/turnovers -- The Blues didn't seem to get the message after Thursday's 4-0 win against the New York Islanders when interim coach Drew Bannister spoke after the game, and Brayden Schenn on Friday, of getting into a track meet once the game was 3-0. 

It was odd-man rush after odd-man rush for the Red Wings in the early going, and goals by Michael Rasmussen and former Blue Robby Fabbri, despite the lucky bounce on Kasperi Kapanen's attempted clear off Fabbri and in, were goal Nos. 2 and 3 and essentially put the game out of reach because of the Blues' inability to put a singular pass together and/or get pucks in to establish any sort of forecheck to try and slow the game down.

Bannister said postgame the Blues had 20-24 turnovers in the first period(!) alone, and against good, skill, rush players, it was a recipe for disaster, and the result speaks volumes.

3. No-show from top players -- Bannister made the decision to bench top-end players Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou for all but one shift in the third period; Kasperi Kapanen was parked on the bench for the entire third period.

Thomas has been on a scoring tear as of late (21 points on three goals, 18 assists the previous 13 games), but he and Kyrou were on the ice and caught out of position and unaware of their defensive duties on Kane's opening-minute goal, and that top line turned the puck over in the offensive zone that led to an odd-man rush for the second goal at 4:21.

Brayden Schenn missed what looked like a slam-dunk goal at the end of the Blues' first period, and it just seemed like from start to finish, the top-end guys did not bring their best in an important game.

And for the second time this season, Bannister has made an example out of the top-end guys who don't perform up to standards; he benched Pavel Buchnevich earlier this season in a 6-1 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning.