ST. LOUIS — Last week, the St. Louis Blues welcomed a group of guests into their locker room after practice.
The guests were people who had worn the Blue Note logo before. They were alumni.
One of them, former enforcer Kelly Chase, talked to the team.
Chase, 57, knows the history of the Blues organization as well as anyone. He has essentially lived in St. Louis since the start of his career in the 1990s. So when he speaks, there’s substance.
Chase told the players that when they’re at a local restaurant and a fan spots them, the fan is typically thinking one of two things: No. 1, “I like the way that guy plays.” Or No. 2, “That guy is a phony who doesn’t give enough effort.”
I can’t explain how, on the heels of that, the third period of the Blues’ 8-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday night at the Enterprise Center was the worst effort I’ve seen in 20 years of covering them.
Yes, they lost by the same 8-1 score to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 29.
It might be splitting the gray hairs on Alexander Ovechkin’s head — you know, the 39-year-old who scored two of Washington’s eight goals as he inches closer to Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record (894-863) — but Saturday’s loss was worse than the one just 12 days ago.
There are unacceptable performances, and there’s giving up. The Blues, who went into the third period trailing 3-1 and voluntarily cleared the way for the Capitals to tack on five more goals, gave up.
Before you go thinking I’m trying to be dramatic or write a click-bait story, please consider that there’s not a more open and honest guy on the Blues roster than Justin Faulk, and he was harsher than I was.
“It’s not going to go your way every night… but that was unacceptable.”
Justin Faulk, Brayden Schenn, and Drew Bannister speak to the media following Saturday’s game. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/avvsbwbvUK
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 10, 2024
“It’s just not right,” Faulk said. “I don’t think that should ever happen, a situation like that. We need to have respect for each other and the game. You can’t just go out there and play summer hockey for a period and think that’s all right at any point. We’re grown men in this league and need to put in an effort that’s acceptable. It’s not going to go your way every night, but you can’t let … that’s just unacceptable. …
“I could probably say there were a few guys that competed pretty hard tonight and played, but the rest, there was nothing there in the third. Got to look at yourself and have a honest conversation with yourself and hope you realize that it’s unacceptable. If you don’t see that or think that of yourself, it’s not a good look. I hope guys, myself included, realize that just shouldn’t happen here.”
This is the part of the Blues’ postgame story where I usually include videos. Not this time. I would’ve been editing all night to show you the replays of players going through the motions in the final 20 minutes.
I asked Faulk if the Blues gave up.
“Yeah, it can look like a lot of things,” he said. “There wasn’t much passion, much energy. … At times it looked like literally nothing. I don’t have words.”
The Blues had some good moments in Saturday’s game, and Capitals goalie Logan Thompson made a few great saves.
But for the second game in a row, the Blues allowed a goal less than a minute after the puck dropped, and it was the seventh consecutive game in which the opponent scored first. The Blues scored just once; it was Scott Perunovich’s first goal in the NHL, and it was assisted by Matthew Kessel. Perunovich and Kessel were a plus-1 Saturday. The rest of the lineup was a combined minus-27.
In the third period, the Capitals scored five goals in just nine shots.
“Once they got up, guys just stopped playing,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “That’s what happens when you stop playing. Every single guy … every single guy is held responsible as far as letting that get to eight. We obviously have some sorting out to do here.
“It all starts with me, with that happening in Ottawa and then happening again … it all starts with me. I can’t let that happen again this season. You’re going to lose games, but to get embarrassed on home ice on Saturday night, you can’t let that happen.”
While reporters waited outside the Blues dressing room late Saturday night, Philip Broberg (lower-body injury) walked out on crutches and wearing a brace on his right leg. When the room opened, Robert Thomas (fractured ankle) was standing inside, wearing a boot on his right foot.
Those injuries are noteworthy. Many teams in the NHL would have a hard time winning without their No. 1 center and arguably their best defenseman this season. The club has had a few nice wins recently, including two over the Toronto Maple Leafs and one over the Tampa Bay Lightning. But perhaps the adrenaline stemming from attempting to win without them has worn off.
Still, what transpired on the ice in the third period Saturday went well beyond anything that’s remotely acceptable.
“We as a group need to realize it’s the National Hockey League, and there’s nothing for free in this league,” Faulk said. “You can’t take any night for granted. Other guys want to come in here and would die to play in this league. There’s guys fighting for spots every night. There’s guys on our team that aren’t in the lineup. I guarantee you they’re sitting there thinking, ‘Why wasn’t I in the lineup tonight when this effort comes through?’ Guys are hungry, and you can’t take anything for granted.
“Those two losses in a short period are an opportunity for us to look at ourselves and try and figure out what we want to accomplish, where we want to be and how we want to grow as a group. We’ve got to find ways to bring energy and passion to the game.”
Blues coach Drew Bannister said the pair of 8-1 losses sets off some alarms.
“In the last two weeks, we’ve had two games where it’s just unacceptable, the way we’re playing in those situations,” Bannister said. “We bounce back with some good efforts, but we haven’t been able to sustain it. I need guys to play to their potential and be able to do that for 60 minutes. I believe the guys in the room can do that and we can have success with the group that we have, but we need more from all of us in here. Changing guys in and out of the lineup obviously isn’t an option right now, but the players themselves and the group in the room, if they play to their potential, we’ll win hockey games.
“We have to sort it out as a group. It’s not just going to be the players. It’s going to be the coaches and the players together. We’re in this together.”
Gone are the days in the NHL when captains get in guys’ faces and demand more. Those conversations are typically more conservative.
“Yeah, those days are definitely gone, but at the same time, it’s my job, it’s Faulker’s job, it’s (Colton Parayko’s) and it’s (Thomas’) when he’s around,” Schenn said. “We have problems to fix right now in our room with stuff like that happening. I think we’ll be fine.
“We just have to get guys to really believe that when we play the right way, we are a good hockey team, and when we let stuff slide, that’s when our problems mount on us. We have to play a simple game, and when we do, it’s effective. But when we don’t, stuff like that happens.”
Do the Blues want to be players the fans respect? Or are they phonies?
(Photo of Capitals center Connor McMichael scoring against Jordan Binnington: Jeff Curry / Imagn Images)
