The St. Louis Blues get the first nine days of February off, but they are back to work on Feb. 10 against the New Jersey Devils. This month represents a chance to make a second-half run and continue to rack up points as a Stanley Cup contender.
Related: St. Louis Blues History of Black Hockey Players
The Blues only have eight games this month, and a lot of that has to do with the All-Star break. This team should be well-rested for the stretch run and their schedule this month should allow them to win some games, they’ll play seven of eight games against teams who aren’t in a playoff spot right now.
Chicago Blackhawks – Feb. 12 & 27
The Blues and Chicago Blackhawks will meet for the third and fourth time this season in the month of February. In the first two meetings, the Blues split them with a blown lead in the second matchup, losing in overtime. Overall, the Blues had won five straight over the Blackhawks before their loss in November.
This is always a fun rivalry matchup, these teams always battle hard, even when one of them is not as good as the other. The Blackhawks are 24th in the league in points right now, with a record of 16-23-7 for 39 points. As for the Blues, they’re 12th with a record of 26-13-5 for 57 points. The Blues’ success is catching the eye of the Blackhawks, as they have looked inside the Blues organization for their general manager job with Peter Chiarelli.
The Blues have a clear advantage on paper, but that is just paper. The key in this matchup is for the Blues to possess the puck and take advantage of the Blackhawks’ weak defensive unit. This should be a chance for the Blues to rack up more points, but the Blackhawks will show up in these games, no doubt.
Montreal Canadiens – Feb. 17
The Blues take another trip to Canada next week, it begins with a matchup against the Ottawa Senators. After that, they’ll go to a special hockey city, Montreal to take on the Canadiens. After reaching the Stanley Cup Final, the Canadiens have the worst record in the league and have been incredibly disappointing for a number of reasons.
The Blues handled them in their first matchup back in December, with a 4-1 victory and a 23-save performance from Charlie Lindgren, in a revenge game against his former team. The biggest reason for this being on the list is the rich history of the Canadiens and this is the first time the Blues visit them since Oct. 2019.
At the end of the day, the Blues should handle the Canadiens, but they shouldn’t take them lightly. The Blues should be able to score goals in this game, the Canadiens have allowed 179 goals, which is the worst in the league.
Toronto Maple Leafs – Feb. 19
This is the best matchup on the list, and it’s not close. The Blues go to Toronto for a Saturday night showdown with the Maple Leafs after their game with the Habs. There were 11 goals scored in the earlier matchup between the two teams, which was back in mid-January.
The Blues have surprisingly won 11 of their last 15 over the Maple Leafs, but they’ve dropped their last two against them. The Blues have had trouble defending and keeping the puck out of their own net against them, they’ve allowed 11 goals in those two losses.
This is going to be a tough matchup for the Blues, the Leafs are 17-4-1 at home and the Blues are 9-8-3 on the road. This should be a fun game to watch for sure, we’ll see if the Blues can make adjustments to defend better against this team.
Philadelphia Flyers – Feb. 22
The Blues wrap up their road trip with a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. They will return to Philadelphia for the first time since that glorious night in Jan. 2019. As the story goes, multiple Blues players went to a bar in Philadelphia and heard the song “Gloria,” which they picked up as their victory song. They rode Jordan Binnington, who shut the Flyers out that night, and Gloria to the Cup.
It’s been a rough season for the Flyers, they were expected to bounce back after a brutal 2020-21 season. Overall, they are 26th in the league with a record of 15-22-8 for 38 points, they fired Alain Vigneault early in the season. It just so happens that Mike Yeo is the interim head coach for the Flyers, the same coach that the Blues fired in the 2018-19 season, which led to Craig Berube and the Stanley Cup.
The Flyers have had trouble keeping the puck out of their own net, the Blues should be able to score goals if their offense is playing well. This has been a competitive series between the two teams, the Blues have won four of their last seven against the Flyers, dating back to Dec. 2016.
The Other Games
The Blues return to play against the Devils, which I don’t see as a notable game for the month, other than their return post-All-Star break. They’ll play the Senators to open up their Canadian road trip and they return home the next week to play the Buffalo Sabres. This is a big opportunity for the Blues to improve their record this month, they play seven of their eight games against non-playoff teams.
