The Blues hope that growing gains can come from all of their pain.
Injuries have taken a heavy toll on them this season. They fell out out of sorts after their 7-2-1 start and they are still struggling to regain momentum.
They punish rebuilding teams and fall to contenders. They fare better on the road than at home. They win enough to stay firmly in the playoff chase while falling further off the West Division lead.
But they have seen real progress — both expected and unexpected — from several young players.
While their constant lineup churn has made their present tense, the Blues’ future looks better with Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Jake Walman and Dakota Joshua flying up and down the ice.
That offers comfort in the face of the current frustration. And maybe, just maybe, some of these younger Blues can add some legs to this playoff push.
Right now the Blues aren’t nearly as good as the first-place Vegas Golden Knights, who drubbed them 5-1 Monday night. The Golden Knights dominated from start to finish despite missing former Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo and scoring winger Max Pacioretty.
“That’s a good team over there,” Blues coach Craig Berube said after Monday night’s loss. “They do a lot of things right. They come at you in waves. We were just overwhelmed. I thought we were overwhelmed the whole game.”
How bad was it? At times it appeared the Blues needed permission slips from the Knights to leave the ice for a shift change.
The Golden Knights also beat the Blues 5-1 back on March 13. The Knights beat them 5-4 in overtime on March 12, so you get the picture.
“They play loose,” Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “They’re connected, they’re making plays.”
They look a lot like the Blues did during their 2019 Cup run. They have a bulldozing fourth line, with former Blues ruffian Ryan Reaves and former Blues prospect William “Aircraft” Carrier smashing bodies on the wings.
The Golden Knights and the equally powerful Colorado Avalanche are pulling away from the rest of the division. As luck would have it, the Blues will see a lot of them and the surprising Minnesota Wild down the stretch.
They must face that severe challenge with less collective experience than previous Blues teams. They must build their game, as they say, with some different parts.
“We know it’s there,” O’Reilly said. “We just have to find a way to be consistent with it.”
Forward Oskar Sundqvist, a big part of the team’s winning identity, suffered a season-ending knee injury. So did steady defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, another key element in the team chemistry. Crafty Tyler Bozak has played just two games since Jan. 26.
Bulwark defenseman Colton Parayko could return from the injured list at some point this season, as could hard-hitting forward Ivan Barbashev.
In the meantime the Blues will lean harder on younger players. That reliance should help future teams, but it adds to Berube’s challenge this season.
Kyrou is fulfilling his promise as a scoring winger. This is exactly what general manager Doug Armstrong wanted to see this season.
Goaltender Ville Husso was an unknown commodity entering this season with no real NHL experience. He has gone 6-3-1 in nine starts and two relief appearances to ease the skepticism.
Armstrong bet on Husso when he left no salary cap space for a veteran backup for Jordan Binnington. So far that wager has paid off, but tougher matchups await him.
Thomas has recovered from his broken thumb and resumed his bid for a breakout season. He suffered a perplexing lull before getting hurt, so now he must regain the jump he had in training camp.
Maybe he can be the catalyst that helps Mike Hoffman have a bigger impact.
Rangy defenseman Niko Mikkola moved up his arrival date, but he buckled under heavy forechecking pressure. Mikkola has the tools to succeed as shutdown defender, but he needs less trial and error in his game.
Given that, Walman came out of the shadows to fill in. He has traveled quite the career path: Hot prospect, cold prospect, lost in the organizational shuffle, comeback prospect, taxi squad member … and then suddenly into the lineup.
With the Blues’ transition game stuck in neutral, Berube is putting Walman’s speed and puck-rushing ability to work. Who saw that coming?
Similarly, forward Joshua came out of nowhere (OK, Utica, New York, which is on the outskirts of nowhere) to shore up the depleted fourth line.
Berube keeps preaching the same things — play with energy, win board battles, stay on the right side of the puck, manage said puck — and Joshua has become one of the better disciples.
At the very least he is pushing more established players to pick up their pace.
All of this adds up to a productive season of player development. This progress positions the franchise to take a hit in the expansion draft and deal with future salary cap challenges.
But Berube is in it to win it now. So is Armstrong, who spent to the cap (and beyond) on this roster
They hope this player growth provides impetus for a playoff push and not consolation for a season that got away.
