Christmas is almost a week away. Make sure you behave so Santa Claus will bring you what you want from your Christmas list. The St. Louis Blues have their Christmas list ready to mail to the North Pole. Santa only has so much room in his sleigh, however, so the Blues narrowed down their list to three items.
Blues Wishing for Gift of Health
Injuries are part of the game. However, the injury bug has bitten the Blues multiple times this season. This is the current list of Blues players who are out of action:
Dylan Holloway – placed on injured reserve on Monday (right ankle) and is expected to miss six weeks.
Jordan Kyrou: out week-to-week with a lower-body injury and also placed on injured reserve.
Jimmy Snuggerud: underwent wrist surgery and was placed on injured reserve.
Nathan Walker: on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
Nick Bjugstad: day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Other players have missed time this season due to injury, even some unrelated to hockey, as was the case with Alexey Toropchenko.
St. Louis Blues Wishlist (The Hockey Writers)
The Blues have had to make do with the players available, leading to some questionable lineup decisions. Young players like Aleksanteri Kaskimaki and Hugh McGing have spent time in the lineup, while the front office brought back Robby Fabbri on a one-year deal to help fill spots.
The Blues entered the season with playoff aspirations. While their play has not reached the level of a playoff team, the number of injuries hasn’t helped. To see if the team can make a run for the playoffs, the Blues would love for Santa to bring them the gift of health. Hockey is a rough sport, but maybe Jolly Old St. Nick can convince the injury bug to take a break from the team.
Related: St. Louis Blues Fans’ Christmas Wish List: Reliving the Best Moments in Team History
Blues Wighing for Gift of Special Teams
The Blues’ special teams have struggled through the first three months of the season. Their power play ranks 18th in the league, with an 18.8% success rate. Meanwhile, their penalty kill ranks 24th at 77.8%.
Only five skaters have scored more than one power-play goal. The players who lead the team in goals (Kyrou, Holloway, and Jake Neighbours) have only two power-play goals between them, and Neighbours has yet to score with the man advantage.
The penalty kill had an awful October. It has been better of late, but there is still room for improvement. Part of the problem has been an inability to consistently clear the puck, either because the opposing team stops it before it clears the zone or they whiff on their clearing attempt.
Special teams can shift a game’s momentum. If Santa can bring St. Louis a magic candy cane that improves their special teams and makes it more consistent, that would help balance their overall game and maybe boost their position in the standings.
Blues Wishing for Gift of the Second Period
If the Blues only had to play the first and third periods, they might be in contention for the Presidents’ Trophy right now. Alas, they have to play the second period, and the results have not been good. It is unclear what is making the Blues struggle so much in the second frame. Yes, the long change is an obstacle, but every team deals with it. Does the team lose focus during the first intermission?
Whatever the reason, the Blues are losing games in the second. On Monday, they entered the middle frame tied at one, and it ended with them trailing 4-1. Teams are taking advantage of the Blues’ lackluster play and putting the game away.
Santa himself may not even know how to solve this problem, but the Blues need to figure it out soon.
Blues’ Holiday Wishes
If Santa can’t help with anything on the Blues’ wish list, there is one thing they have that cannot be taken away from them. The 2019 Stanley Cup Championship. If this holiday season, you find yourself frustrated by the team’s play in 2025-26, pop in that Stanley Cup DVD and relive the magic of 2019. That magic will always be there.
