The St. Louis Blues will look to bounce back from a disappointing effort when they close out a three-game road trip with a visit to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
The Blues (27-30-11, 65 points) are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, their second straight defeat after winning seven of their previous nine games (7-1-1) to pull themselves closer to the pack in the race for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
St. Louis entered Friday seven points behind the Los Angeles Kings, who currently hold the second wild card in the west. Four other teams sit between them.
“Obviously not the best start to the road trip,” Blues forward Robert Thomas said. “We felt like we played really good in Winnipeg (a 3-2 loss on Sunday) and not so good tonight. We’ve got two days off to rest and get ready for the next one.”
Though the team is not completely out of the mix for the postseason, the margin of error is tight for the Blues, who are also only four points ahead of second-to-last in the NHL overall (Calgary, 61 points).
“Calgary outcompeted us, outplayed us for the first two periods,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. “In the third period, we were more connected. We were able to create more chances, more O-zone time, but in the end, you can’t just play 15 good minutes and expect to win in this league.”
A struggling offense has been an issue for the Blues, who rank 30th in the NHL in both total goals (178) and goals per game (2.62).
It’s been equally rough on the power play, with St. Louis connecting at a mere 16.6% success rate, which places them 28th in the league. After scoring a power-play goal in four straight games from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, the Blues have gone dry with the man advantage following the return to action post-Olympics. They’ve scored just once on 18 opportunities since, a mere 5.6% success rate.
The Canucks (21-39-8, 50 points), meanwhile, have long been in a different sort of race — that of top odds for landing the No. 1 draft pick in 2026. Vancouver has an 11-point edge over Calgary for last place overall.
The latest defeat came Thursday, dropping a 6-2 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“They’re a really good team, so it’s important to learn from it,” forward Marco Rossi said. “It’s important to stay positive. You’re going to have some nights like that, but it’s important to learn from the mistakes.”
Though there hasn’t been much positivity for the Canucks to count on this season, they are 3-3-1 in their past seven games after 4-18-4 in their previous 26. It’s their best stretch since going 6-4-0 from Dec. 6-29.
“Teams are going to have momentum. We have to find ways to snap that momentum,” defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “Maybe it’s making a couple of simple plays and keeping the puck in front of us. With our enthusiasm and our skating ability, we bring that we’re going to give ourselves the best chance.”
The two teams have split their encounters this season, with both road teams earning two points. However, they have not met since a 4-3 Vancouver shootout win in St. Louis on Oct. 30.
