The St. Louis Blues are five games into the 2023-24 season. They are 2-2-1 with no identity right now and that’s been on display in all five of their games. They have moments with an inordinate amount of ineptitude in all phases and other moments with some semblance of competence.
In this edition of Blues Weekly, I’ll discuss the Blues game against the Winnipeg Jets, the state of their offense, why a change on the blue line may be in order, and much more.
Blues Lose to Jets in NHL’s Frozen Frenzy Night
It was a big night in the NHL on Tuesday, Oct. 24 with all 32 teams in action. The Blues were in Winnipeg to play the Jets for the first time this season. In the game, the Blues had numerous defensive breakdowns and lost 4-2. With this performance, it’s clear that the Blues need to be better with the puck and get more shots on net. They had just 20 shots all night and that’s been a common theme throughout the season.
Related: ESPN’s Frozen Frenzy is a Work in Progress
The Blues need to generate sustained offensive pressure, which is something they’ve struggled with all season. They’re lucky to be 2-2-1 with how poor their offense has been. I think it’s a philosophical issue in some ways as the Blues have emphasized defense a lot so far this season, but their defense was awful in several spots against the Jets. It’s hard to understand how the Blues can get dominated in a game where they won nearly 65 percent of faceoffs. Their defense struggled and did nothing to help goaltender Jordan Binnington.
Buchnevich Returns & Blues Power Play Scores
In the loss to the Jets, Pavel Buchnevich returned to the lineup after missing two games. He looked great with nearly 18 minutes of ice time, tallying two points, including a power play goal. It was the Blues’ first power-play goal of the season, and it came in their 13th opportunity. They are now 1-for-15 on the power play this season, which is just under seven percent and 28th in the NHL.
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Having Buchnevich back in the lineup is big for the Blues, but it’s still clear that head coach Craig Berube hasn’t found the best line combinations yet. I’d like to see Buchnevich moved back up with Robert Thomas on the first line and separating Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. It’ll be interesting to see how the Blues lineup looks before their next game as the road trip continues.
Scandella Should Be Replaced in Blues Lineup
It’s time for the Blues to make a lineup change, and that became obvious in their loss to the Jets. Defenseman Marco Scandella needs to be replaced by Scott Perunovich, but I don’t expect it to happen anytime soon. He’s played limited minutes in every game this season outside of their loss to the Arizona Coyotes. If the concerns about Perunovich are his defensive play, Scandella might be worse defensively.
In the first two goals scored by the Jets, Scandella was out of position and did nothing to recover in time. He provides little to nothing in the puck-moving department, which is where Perunovich excels. On top of that, the Blues power play needs a spark and he can provide that on either unit. The Scandella contract has been a disaster and they don’t need to keep rolling him out there because of his $3.275 million salary cap hit. The bottom line is that the Blues need to take Scandella out and put Perunovich in.
Blues’ Week Ahead
- Thursday: at Calgary Flames (2-4-1, 5 points), 8 PM
- Friday: at Vancouver Canucks (4-2-0, 8 points), 9 PM
The Blues’ road trip in Canada continues with a back-to-back against the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks before four days off. It’ll be interesting to see their response after a tough loss to the Jets, especially against a struggling Flames team.
