The St. Louis Blues have wrapped up the month of October and have set their sights on their first full month of the season. With only a handful of games under their belt, this month will begin to truly test the club to show their strengths and weaknesses as they look to rebound from a dreadful 2022-23 campaign.
Here’s a look at the latest news and rumors surrounding the Blues from the past week.
The Week That Was
Blues vs Avalanche
The Blues concluded their four-game road trip with a Central Division matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. Coming off of a 5-0 shutout loss against the Vancouver Canucks, the Blues continued to misfire and fell short in nearly every aspect of the game. After going down 2-0 in the first period, St. Louis found life at 17:49 in the second period with a goal by forward Robert Thomas. With little time left in the second frame, the Blues went into the third period down by only one goal.
Only 1:41 into the third period, the Avalanche’s Artturi Lehkonen scored his third goal of the season to restore the two-goal lead. Any hope for the Blues to cut the lead back to one goal was quickly denied minutes later by defenseman Bowen Byram scoring to make it 4-1 at the 7:59 mark to seal the 4-1 victory for Colorado.
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After the game, Blues head coach Craig Berube did not mince words about his club’s third-period performance:
“We made two bad puck decisions in the third period. It cost us the game. That’s basically what it boils down to. Lost our coverage on the third goal chasing behind the net, but we could have moved that puck earlier and got out of there and we didn’t. And then the fourth goal, same thing. Was just a bad puck play and it was in our net. I thought our game was good up until then. First period, too. … We’re right in the game. We shot ourselves in the foot in the third.”
Blues vs Devils
After a disappointing 1-3 road trip, the Blues returned home to take on Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils. With a 0-0 score after the first period, St. Louis had something to cheer for outshooting the Devils 11-7 and preventing the NHL’s leading scorer from doing any damage offensively. It was the 21-year-old Jake Neighbours that finally broke the game open for the Blues scoring 7:12 into the second period to beat Devils’ goaltender Akira Schmid. The Blues continued to press forward aggressively and were rewarded on a rebound shot by Kevin Hayes at the 9:54 mark to score his first goal as a member of the team making it 2-0. After compiling only two assists through his first eight games of the season, Hayes said:
“Definitely relieved, I feel like I haven’t really got too many looks this season. I’ve been working on it, but it’s nice to actually see one go in. It felt good.”
After Devils’ forward Curtis Lazar scored 16:39 into the period, the Blues continued to hold on into and through the third period in a one-goal game to win 4-1 after two late empty-net goals by Hayes and Thomas.
Blues vs Canadiens
Playing in their second game in two days, the Blues faced the Montreal Canadiens in their only game of the year in St. Louis. Blues forward Jordan Kyrou quickly got fans on their feet scoring only 1:24 into the game. The lead did not last long with Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky scoring his first goal of the season on the power play 4:01 into the game. After plenty of back-and-forth action between the two teams, Thomas scored on a snapshot to regain the lead.
During the second period, Blues forward Brandon Saad scored his third goal of the year on a 2-on-1 one-timer pass made by Kyrou. The two-goal lead was quickly answered 1:45 later after Sean Monahan intercepted a puck behind the Blues’ net and fed Brandon Gallagher in the slot to make it a one-goal game.
With the third period underway, the Blues’ young forward, Alexey Toropchenko, restored the two-goal lead on a short-handed breakaway, making it a 4-2 game.
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The Blues scored two more goals in the third period with team captain Brayden Schenn scoring his first of the year, and forward Kasperi Kapanen scoring an empty-net goal to make it 6-2. Blues goaltender Joel Hofer made 30 saves in the team’s victory. Kyrou’s assist in the second period marked his 200th career point with 85 goals and 116 assists in 262 games.
Here’s a look at where the Blues rank statistically among the rest of the NHL:
- Team Record: 5-4-1 (4th in division, 8th in conference)
- Goals Scored: 24 (29th in NHL) (Last Week: 31st in NHL)
- Goals Against: 27 (7th in NHL) (Last Week: 5th)
- Power Play: 3.7% (32nd) (Last Week: 32nd)
- Penalty Kill: 78.6% (17th in NHL) (Last Week: 14th)
- Faceoff (%): 47.9% (25th in NHL) (Last Week: 25th)
Blues Better Halves and Operation Shower
For the fifth year in a row, the Blues Better Halves and Operation Shower, a nonprofit organization that provides baby showers for military families to ease the stress of deployment, teamed up to provide a group baby shower for 30 military moms and moms-to-be at Enterprise Center on Nov. 2.
Every mother at Thursday’s shower was either an active-duty military member or the spouse or partner of an active-duty or deployed member of Fort Leonard Wood, Whiteman Air Force Base, or another Missouri military base. After a catered brunch, the Blues Better Halves hosted a raffle, played games, and spoke to the expectant mothers. Each mother left with a gift basket including a crib, Diaper Genie, gift cards, and other Blues-themed baby essentials.
On Thursday, Chloe Faulk, wife of Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said: “We want to say thank you to all the expectant mothers for the sacrifices you make daily for all of us. We admire your strength and your selflessness, and you truly are amazing.”
Former Blue Paul Stastny Retires
Former Blues forward Paul Stastny officially announced his retirement from hockey on Nov. 1. The announcement marked the end of a 17-year NHL career for the 37-year-old. Stastny’s career included time with the Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, and Carolina Hurricanes.
Over four seasons, Stastny played in 267 games with the Blues from 2014-18. With the club, he recorded 56 goals and 119 assists (175 points). In 1,145 career games, he recorded 293 goals and 529 assists (822 points).
Adam Gaudette Named AHL Player of the Month
On Nov. 1, the American Hockey League (AHL) named Springfield Thunderbirds forward Adam Gaudette as the AHL Player of the Month for October.
Gaudette, 28, scored goals in a team-record six consecutive games for the Thunderbirds and finished the month with a league-leading nine goals and 11 points in eight contests.
A sixth-year pro, Gaudette is coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which he set career highs with 27 goals and 51 points while skating in 65 AHL games between Springfield and the Toronto Marlies. Gaudette was originally a fifth-round choice by Vancouver in the 2015 NHL Draft and has collected 27 goals and 43 assists in 218 career NHL games with the Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators.
The Blues will take on Central Division rival, the Jets on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at the Enterprise Center. The two teams met only two weeks ago when the Jets beat the Blues 4-2 with David Gustafsson and Mason Appleton scoring 18 seconds apart in the second period to help propel the Jets to victory.