ST. LOUIS _ The Blues didn't do anything radical to get back on track Tuesday night. Their game plan against the Carolina Hurricanes was nothing startling.
"Chipping pucks out," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "Getting people on top of them right away, getting it deep and going to work. That's going to be our strength tonight. That's what we need to do."
And that's what they did while winning 6-3.
Of course sustaining offensive pressure is easier said than done. And even when it's done, it doesn't automatically equate to goals _ as the Blues discovered during their aggravating 1-4-1 downturn.
But they stayed their course and got the needed payoff while scoring in a variety of ways against the Hurricanes.
This ought to settle everybody down.
Remember, the Blues were cruising before their bye week and All-Star break gave them some deserved time off. They took nine of 10 points in a five-game homestand that was almost too easy for them.
They dismissed four teams destined to the miss the playoffs _ San Jose, Buffalo, the New York Rangers and Anaheim _ before getting a point from their overtime loss to Philadelphia.
The Blues went into the break by failing 5-3 at Colorado to tighten the Central Division race, then stumbled out of the break while losing three times on their four-game tour of Western Canada.
The one game the Blues won, 5-4 at Calgary in a shootout, was loosely played. Both teams had ample time and space to operate. The title round of three-on-three play at the All-Star Game featured tighter checking than the Blues and Flames displayed that night.
That was way more pond hockey than Berube could bear to watch.
Otherwise, the Blues played well for long stretches in each loss on that trip, but they couldn't finish the job.
"For me, we had tons of opportunities in all those games we lost to score goals and we didn't get up," Berube said. "We got down in the game and it's hard to come back."
The Blues returned to the STL looking to regain their tempo-setting form. They carried a 17-4-4 home record and a 10-game home points streak (9-0-1) into their three-game stretch against Carolina, Winnipeg and Dallas at Enterprise Center.
Berube shuffled his forward lines on the trip and at the end found good chemistry with Robert Thomas playing with Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz.
This offense lost some explosiveness months ago when Vladimir Tarasenko went down with a shoulder injury. Thomas is blossoming into a dynamic playmaker, so giving him a bigger role could bolster the Blues' attack.
Previously Thomas was sparking a productive No. 3 line with Tyler Bozak and Alexander Steen. Now he could become the catalyst on a forceful top line with Schwartz, who is flying these days, and Schenn.
"They definitely play a different game," Thomas said. "They are more of a transition line and play with their speed."
Sure enough that line scored the third Blues goal Tuesday night in transition, with Colton Parayko jumping up on the left wing to convert the three-on-two rush with a one-time blast.
That play satisfied another immediate team need: more offensive activity from defensemen not named Alex Pietrangelo.
"I think we can activate more, some of the guys," Berube said. "I go back to the (Jets) game, Vince Dunn had three point-blank chances from the blue line, coming into the zone, which we like. He didn't execute. Hit a post, (had) a couple blocked. Those are opportunities _ and that goes for everybody _ that we missed on this road trip."
Justin Faulk also had a hand in the scoring against his old teammates, pounding a shot on goal that set up Sammy Blais' rebound conversion.
The Blues also got two even-strength goals from Zach Sanford _ one on a sweet wrapround shot and one on a slap shot form the high slot _ and two power-play goals from Brayden Schenn during the onslaught.
It will be interesting to see how the front lines perform with the Feb. 24 trade deadline looming larger. Do the Blues have enough offense? Can they keep this up?
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong has chips to play and he could have lots of cap space, too, if Tarasenko can't return before the end of the regular season.
Would the Blues want to rent, say, New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider for the stretch run? Sure.
Would it be a good idea to sacrifice Jordan Kyrou to make such a deal happen? Not really, even for a team in full "win-now" mode.
Kyrou has the speed and skill to make a long-term impact. Such talent is precious in today's NHL.
For the moment, there appears to be no need to take such drastic action. As the Blues reiterated Tuesday, they are way more explosive than they showed on the road.
"Especially after the road trip we had, we've got to get back here and build some momentum, starting building our game again," Thomas said. "We've been playing really well on home ice all year, so we're looking to not change that."
