Blue Note Weekly Report: Winning Streak Reaches Four Games

Plus, a look at the power play, Jordan Binnington's excellence this season & more

Welcome to the latest Blue Note Weekly Report…

The St. Louis Blues are back in the Wild Card playoff hunt with their recent four-game win streak.

St. Louis Blues Blue Note Weekly Report Robert Thomas (The Hockey Writers)

I still don’t think this team is consistent enough to catch the Vegas Golden Knights or Nashville Predators, but they can stay in the hunt until the season ends. Let’s get into all the latest happenings in St. Louis.

Blues Still in the Playoff Hunt, But For How Long?

The Blues are 36-29-3 for 75 points after burying themselves after the All-Star break. They’re four points behind Vegas and seven behind Nashville in the race. However, they’re 26th in goals for and 15th in goals against, so that is less than ideal for a team trying to work their way back into a playoff spot.

Under head coach Drew Bannister, the club is 23-15-2 despite consistent struggles in all three zones at 5-on-5. I firmly believe general manager Doug Armstrong will look elsewhere for a new head coach when the season ends.

Why Has The Power Play Turned a Corner?

The Blues power play was abysmal under former head coach Craig Berube into December before his termination. There were times when the team looked entirely disinterested in shooting the puck. However, since bringing in Brad Richards as a consultant, they’ve been great on the power play. They were under 10 percent for the first few months, but now? They are just under 20 percent and up to 25th in the league. This lineup has far too many solid forwards to be as bad as they were on the man advantage.