St. Louis Blues playoff picture: How does a 5-1 win over Bruins improve their postseason odds?

Modified Mar 12, 2024 15:38 GMT

On Monday night, the St. Louis Blues walked into TD Garden, the same arena where they won the Stanley Cup in 2019, and defeated the Boston Bruins 5-1.

It was a tough loss for the home team, who have a lot at stake in the playoff race, but moreover, it was a massive victory for a Blues team scrambling to collect points to keep their slim postseason hopes alive.

In the Western Conference, the defending champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, presently hold the final playoff berth with 75 points. Meanwhile, the Blues (33-29-3) are tied with the Minnesota Wild (31-27-7) for 69 points.

Both teams are slightly ahead of the Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames (67 points). Despite a six-point gap between the teams chasing and the cut-off line, this race is far from over, with 17 games left on the Blues' schedule.

St. Louis Blues end losing streak and pick valuable two points in Boston

St. Louis just finished a grueling part of their schedule, playing eight out of their last nine games on the road, earning a 3-5-1 record while getting outscored 28-18. Statistically, the Blues are a better home team (18-11-1) than on the road (15-18-2) and will play their next four contests at Enterprise Center.

St. Louis' fate is in their own hands, with Tankathon.com ranking them as having the 30th most manageable schedule. They play only six playoff-bound teams out of 17 games, with the remaining 11 against teams in their division or having lower record comparitively.

At the NHL trade deadline, the Blues didn't make a single trade, meaning that general manager Doug Armstrong believed the lineup could earn a playoff spot on its own merits.

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After a 13-14-1 start, St. Louis fired head coach Craig Berube, who was the only bench boss to lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup title.

Since the change, the team has a 20-15-2 record and has been outscored 106-104 over the past 37 games. The team has remained stagnant with their wins and losses.

The Blues' season will be determined by their next four home games. They first face the Los Angeles Kings, followed by a crucial game against the Minnesota Wild. On the second night of a back-to-back, they face the 30th-ranked Anaheim Ducks before facing division foe the Colorado Avalanche.

If St. Louis loses two or possibly three games, it risks missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year.