The St. Louis Blues had another stinker against a talented Tampa Bay Lightning team, losing 4-1. With the Christmas break upon us, it is a time for reflection on this season’s fortunes and misfortunes so far.
The number one thing that the Blues need right now is clarity, and they need to establish what kind of team they are. Captain Brayden Schenn spoke on the game’s unfortunate result, with a comment that has been heard too many times this season and is starting to sound a bit like a broken record.
“We feel like we’re building as a team, we’re playing more consistent, but at the end of the day tonight we weren’t good enough,” Schenn said after the 4-1 loss.
Let’s talk about it.
How much longer can you build a team?
After 38 games, the Blues are 14-16-8 on the year for 36 points. They are still fifth in the Central Division, with three points separating them from Utah and Los Angeles for the two wildcard spots. Not a bad place to be in at the Christmas break, but this recent loss should have been a resounding victory following their breakthrough performance from the game before against the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions, Florida.
As Schenn pointed out, they are still building like a team. It is an obvious statement to make, especially since this team is seemingly a revolving door between injuries and call-ups, not to mention waiver-wire acquisitions. It has been a different team every single night, and that has been a con for this team.
At some point, you have to deal with the fact that this team is what it is, and that will become abundantly clear once the injuries of Dylan Holloway, Nathan Walker, Nick Bjugstad, Jimmy Snuggerud and Jordan Kyrou are straightened out and they are back on the ice.
This team has not been consistent
The Blues faced a tough opponent in Tampa Bay. That you cannot deny, but to suggest that they are playing consistent hockey is a complete farce. They outshot the Lightning, 24-17, which is the third time that has happened in the last 10 games. The Blues have also scored 24 goals in the last 10 games, allowing 31 in the process. Their 5-4-1 record is a solid one, but looking at the wins versus the losses, the only “deserving victory” was against Florida.
This squad comes out of that tunnel with each game wildly different. There is no consistency, in either direction of bad or good. There is a case to be made that the Blues are one of, if not the, most puzzling teams in the NHL.