Blues four points out of a wildcard with 16 games left

[SweeneyAstray]

2019 StL Blues:

JayBo #3 overall
Petro #4 overall
Schenn #5 overall

Only one was drafted by StL.

But…

Additionally, the 2019 cup champion team also had 5 more homegrown 1st rounders on the team, and 1 more acquired:

Perron
Schwartz
Tank
Thomas
Fabbri

Steen


That is an impressive collection of talent on one squad, but even then it still needed 2nd rounder ROR and 3rd rounder Binner to put them over the top (talent wise).


By comparison, the 2026 StL Blues have 10 1st rounders on the squad, with Drouin as the only top 5 (#3 overall).

BroBee #8
DD #10

They have a keeper in Hof, but IMHO still lack elite game breaker or shutdown ability that the 2019 team had.

I think they absolutely need to hit on one more top 5 pick or trade for one. They also need guys like Barbie and Patty and (young) Sunny to intimidate opponents.

[DawgDad]

2019 StL Blues:

JayBo #3 overall
Petro #4 overall
Schenn #5 overall

Only one was drafted by StL.

But…

Additionally, the 2019 cup champion team also had 5 more homegrown 1st rounders on the team, and 1 more acquired:

Perron
Schwartz
Tank
Thomas
Fabbri

Steen


That is an impressive collection of talent on one squad, but even then it still needed 2nd rounder ROR and 3rd rounder Binner to put them over the top (talent wise).


By comparison, the 2026 StL Blues have 10 1st rounders on the squad, with Drouin as the only top 5 (#3 overall).

BroBee #8
DD #10

They have a keeper in Hof, but IMHO still lack elite game breaker or shutdown ability that the 2019 team had.

I think they absolutely need to hit on one more top 5 pick or trade for one. They also need guys like Barbie and Patty and (young) Sunny to intimidate opponents.

At this stage Thomas and Drouin have effectively exchanged places in terms of talent pedigree.

[SweeneyAstray]

2019 StL Blues:

JayBo #3 overall
Petro #4 overall
Schenn #5 overall

Only one was drafted by StL.

But…

Additionally, the 2019 cup champion team also had 5 more homegrown 1st rounders on the team, and 1 more acquired:

Perron
Schwartz
Tank
Thomas
Fabbri

Steen


That is an impressive collection of talent on one squad, but even then it still needed 2nd rounder ROR and 3rd rounder Binner to put them over the top (talent wise).


By comparison, the 2026 StL Blues have 10 1st rounders on the squad, with Drouin as the only top 5 (#3 overall).

BroBee #8
DD #10

They have a keeper in Hof, but IMHO still lack elite game breaker or shutdown ability that the 2019 team had.

I think they absolutely need to hit on one more top 5 pick or trade for one. They also need guys like Barbie and Patty and (young) Sunny to intimidate opponents.

At this stage Thomas and Drouin have effectively exchanged places in terms of talent pedigree.

I’d agree that RT goes much higher in a redraft.

I also like that this team could very well have 13 first rounders on it in just two years, with Carbo, Jiri, and (fingers crossed) our top 5 pick. That’s more than 50% of the active roster being 1st round talent.

Pretty exciting to imagine. I just hope they don’t win too many more this season.

Lose the battle. Win the war.

[stlhooked]

The Blues aren’t making the playoffs you [decelerate]s.

[zamadoo]

... anyone hunting the wildcard spots .... That spot probably is going to be about 93-94 points, so i don't think the blues have any shot of getting that one, but it would be nice.

I disagree, but could be wrong, that the last wc will be 93-94 points.

If the Blues win every last one of their remaining 16 games, they'd be at 96 points. Also, tiebreaker territory.

My heart *wants* them to win, but I don't see this group winning the last 18 straight games of the regular season (incl. prior 2 games). League history suggests otherwise.

Gosh, even an astonishing 16-2 finish only nets 92 points. Without looking it up, how many teams made the playoffs since 2010 with less that 95 points? I don't know, but probably very few.

It's possible they could sneak in with 88 or 89. Not probable, but possible, as they play some teams ahead of them. What if it came down to the last game vs Utah?

Let's say the Blues continue their .75 pts% pace, and the Mammoth (just as hot the last 5) cool to a .500 pace. It's the last game of the season and we're sitting on 87pts and them 89 with only one game to play against each other, and we have the tiebreaker. By this time we might already be positioned in WC2 if we beat the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks to get there.

It appears things are going as planned.

[TruBlueFan_1970]

... anyone hunting the wildcard spots .... That spot probably is going to be about 93-94 points, so i don't think the blues have any shot of getting that one, but it would be nice.

I disagree, but could be wrong, that the last wc will be 93-94 points.

If the Blues win every last one of their remaining 16 games, they'd be at 96 points. Also, tiebreaker territory.

My heart *wants* them to win, but I don't see this group winning the last 18 straight games of the regular season (incl. prior 2 games). League history suggests otherwise.

Gosh, even an astonishing 16-2 finish only nets 92 points. Without looking it up, how many teams made the playoffs since 2010 with less that 95 points? I don't know, but probably very few.

It's possible they could sneak in with 88 or 89. Not probable, but possible, as they play some teams ahead of them. What if it came down to the last game vs Utah?

Let's say the Blues continue their .75 pts% pace, and the Mammoth (just as hot the last 5) cool to a .500 pace. It's the last game of the season and we're sitting on 87pts and them 89 with only one game to play against each other, and we have the tiebreaker. By this time we might already be positioned in WC2 if we beat the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks to get there.

It appears things are going as planned.

Well, they were 4 points out with 16 games left and are still 4 points out with 10 games remaining. I think the issue isn’t so much whether it takes 88-90 or 94 points, but moreso, the number of teams they were/are chasing and needing all of them to falter. Kings faulter, Preds go on a heater. Preds drop 2 in a row, but Jets win 3 of 4. They have multiple challenges to climb and the odds are slim. Better, but still slim.

[rezero]

If we get in we are winning the cup!

[DawgDad]

... anyone hunting the wildcard spots .... That spot probably is going to be about 93-94 points, so i don't think the blues have any shot of getting that one, but it would be nice.

I disagree, but could be wrong, that the last wc will be 93-94 points.

If the Blues win every last one of their remaining 16 games, they'd be at 96 points. Also, tiebreaker territory.

My heart *wants* them to win, but I don't see this group winning the last 18 straight games of the regular season (incl. prior 2 games). League history suggests otherwise.

Gosh, even an astonishing 16-2 finish only nets 92 points. Without looking it up, how many teams made the playoffs since 2010 with less that 95 points? I don't know, but probably very few.

It's possible they could sneak in with 88 or 89. Not probable, but possible, as they play some teams ahead of them. What if it came down to the last game vs Utah?

Let's say the Blues continue their .75 pts% pace, and the Mammoth (just as hot the last 5) cool to a .500 pace. It's the last game of the season and we're sitting on 87pts and them 89 with only one game to play against each other, and we have the tiebreaker. By this time we might already be positioned in WC2 if we beat the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks to get there.

It appears things are going as planned.

The important thing is they are living in the present, not looking ahead or crying over spilt milk. And, as Monty has said, the right guys are getting it done.

[mph6689new]

... anyone hunting the wildcard spots .... That spot probably is going to be about 93-94 points, so i don't think the blues have any shot of getting that one, but it would be nice.

I disagree, but could be wrong, that the last wc will be 93-94 points.

If the Blues win every last one of their remaining 16 games, they'd be at 96 points. Also, tiebreaker territory.

My heart *wants* them to win, but I don't see this group winning the last 18 straight games of the regular season (incl. prior 2 games). League history suggests otherwise.

Gosh, even an astonishing 16-2 finish only nets 92 points. Without looking it up, how many teams made the playoffs since 2010 with less that 95 points? I don't know, but probably very few.

It's possible they could sneak in with 88 or 89. Not probable, but possible, as they play some teams ahead of them. What if it came down to the last game vs Utah?

Let's say the Blues continue their .75 pts% pace, and the Mammoth (just as hot the last 5) cool to a .500 pace. It's the last game of the season and we're sitting on 87pts and them 89 with only one game to play against each other, and we have the tiebreaker. By this time we might already be positioned in WC2 if we beat the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks to get there.

It appears things are going as planned.

Well, they were 4 points out with 16 games left and are still 4 points out with 10 games remaining. I think the issue isn’t so much whether it takes 88-90 or 94 points, but moreso, the number of teams they were/are chasing and needing all of them to falter. Kings faulter, Preds go on a heater. Preds drop 2 in a row, but Jets win 3 of 4. They have multiple challenges to climb and the odds are slim. Better, but still slim.

All true, and very slim chance to make it. But, they have gained ground. At the time, teams all had games in hand against us, by a lot. We’ve kept this gap while erasing those games.

Win the next 2, and it really does get interesting.

[clemonsonroots]

2019 StL Blues:

JayBo #3 overall
Petro #4 overall
Schenn #5 overall

Only one was drafted by StL.

But…

Additionally, the 2019 cup champion team also had 5 more homegrown 1st rounders on the team, and 1 more acquired:

Perron
Schwartz
Tank
Thomas
Fabbri

Steen


That is an impressive collection of talent on one squad, but even then it still needed 2nd rounder ROR and 3rd rounder Binner to put them over the top (talent wise).


By comparison, the 2026 StL Blues have 10 1st rounders on the squad, with Drouin as the only top 5 (#3 overall).

BroBee #8
DD #10

They have a keeper in Hof, but IMHO still lack elite game breaker or shutdown ability that the 2019 team had.

I think they absolutely need to hit on one more top 5 pick or trade for one. They also need guys like Barbie and Patty and (young) Sunny to intimidate opponents.

That team did not have an elite game breaker. Tarasenko by that time was still good, but had fallen off what he was due to injuries. They were very deep- 4 lines that all could score, played with an edge and had a tall, smothering defense with binny playing out of his mind. This team, actually is getting close to having that kind of depth and talent. Defensively though, they are very young and not near what that team was yet. However, Broberg, Mailloux, Jiricek and potentially Fischer makes it quite promising that we could soon be.

[hockey jedi]

... anyone hunting the wildcard spots .... That spot probably is going to be about 93-94 points, so i don't think the blues have any shot of getting that one, but it would be nice.

I disagree, but could be wrong, that the last wc will be 93-94 points.

If the Blues win every last one of their remaining 16 games, they'd be at 96 points. Also, tiebreaker territory.

My heart *wants* them to win, but I don't see this group winning the last 18 straight games of the regular season (incl. prior 2 games). League history suggests otherwise.

Gosh, even an astonishing 16-2 finish only nets 92 points. Without looking it up, how many teams made the playoffs since 2010 with less that 95 points? I don't know, but probably very few.

It's possible they could sneak in with 88 or 89. Not probable, but possible, as they play some teams ahead of them. What if it came down to the last game vs Utah?

Let's say the Blues continue their .75 pts% pace, and the Mammoth (just as hot the last 5) cool to a .500 pace. It's the last game of the season and we're sitting on 87pts and them 89 with only one game to play against each other, and we have the tiebreaker. By this time we might already be positioned in WC2 if we beat the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks to get there.

It appears things are going as planned.

The important thing is they are living in the present, not looking ahead or crying over spilt milk. And, as Monty has said, the right guys are getting it done.

Do you mean "spilled" milk?

[DawgDad]

Kings lost.

[DawgDad]

... anyone hunting the wildcard spots .... That spot probably is going to be about 93-94 points, so i don't think the blues have any shot of getting that one, but it would be nice.

I disagree, but could be wrong, that the last wc will be 93-94 points.

If the Blues win every last one of their remaining 16 games, they'd be at 96 points. Also, tiebreaker territory.

My heart *wants* them to win, but I don't see this group winning the last 18 straight games of the regular season (incl. prior 2 games). League history suggests otherwise.

Gosh, even an astonishing 16-2 finish only nets 92 points. Without looking it up, how many teams made the playoffs since 2010 with less that 95 points? I don't know, but probably very few.

It's possible they could sneak in with 88 or 89. Not probable, but possible, as they play some teams ahead of them. What if it came down to the last game vs Utah?

Let's say the Blues continue their .75 pts% pace, and the Mammoth (just as hot the last 5) cool to a .500 pace. It's the last game of the season and we're sitting on 87pts and them 89 with only one game to play against each other, and we have the tiebreaker. By this time we might already be positioned in WC2 if we beat the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks to get there.

It appears things are going as planned.

The important thing is they are living in the present, not looking ahead or crying over spilt milk. And, as Monty has said, the right guys are getting it done.

Do you mean "spilled" milk?

Actually, no. [Google it, if you must].

[Sunneez Teef]

... anyone hunting the wildcard spots .... That spot probably is going to be about 93-94 points, so i don't think the blues have any shot of getting that one, but it would be nice.

I disagree, but could be wrong, that the last wc will be 93-94 points.

If the Blues win every last one of their remaining 16 games, they'd be at 96 points. Also, tiebreaker territory.

My heart *wants* them to win, but I don't see this group winning the last 18 straight games of the regular season (incl. prior 2 games). League history suggests otherwise.

Gosh, even an astonishing 16-2 finish only nets 92 points. Without looking it up, how many teams made the playoffs since 2010 with less that 95 points? I don't know, but probably very few.

It's possible they could sneak in with 88 or 89. Not probable, but possible, as they play some teams ahead of them. What if it came down to the last game vs Utah?

Let's say the Blues continue their .75 pts% pace, and the Mammoth (just as hot the last 5) cool to a .500 pace. It's the last game of the season and we're sitting on 87pts and them 89 with only one game to play against each other, and we have the tiebreaker. By this time we might already be positioned in WC2 if we beat the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks to get there.

It appears things are going as planned.

The important thing is they are living in the present, not looking ahead or crying over spilt milk. And, as Monty has said, the right guys are getting it done.

Do you mean "spilled" milk?

Actually, no. [Google it, if you must].

Oh man, spilled milk, classic. That makes my day.

[xweazel75]

Its fun checking the standings and playing meaningful games at the end of March.

I love that the Blues are longshots again this year. In or out, this team is special and I like them more this year than last. They do play a brand of hockey that is perfect for a young group.

The best part? They're only going to get better.

I hope they sneak in. Shock the NHL again.

-x

[Zizzle1297]

If we didnt lose the 3 games late against Dallas we would likely be in a playoff spot. Between that and the horrid overtime record and injuries.