The St. Louis Blues concluded their two-game week with a 1-1 record before heading out on their first multi-game road trip of the season. With only two games played last week, there was still plenty of news for Blues fans to keep their eyes on.
Here’s a look at the latest news and rumors surrounding the club.
Looking Back at Last Week
The Blues played two games over the past week, wrapping up their three-game home stand. The club welcomed their central division opponent, the Arizona Coyotes for their first of a four-game series this season and received their first regulation loss. The Blues were outplayed in every aspect of the game having lost 41-33 in the faceoff dot, went 0-2 on the power play compared to Arizona’s 3-4, and outshot 42-26 in the 6-2 loss. Goaltender Joel Hofer started his first game of the season and stopped 36 of 42 shots, and forwards Jakub Vrana and Sammy Blais recorded the team’s lone two goals.
With a chance to bounce back, they welcomed Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins to town for their lone season visit. The team and fans got their wish as forward Brandon Saad led the way with a two-goal effort to beat the Penguins 4-2. The Blues turned back to starting goaltender Jordan Binnington who turned aside 31 of 33 shots. Alongside Saad, forward Jake Neighbours and defenseman Colton Parayko each scored their first goal of the season.
RELATED: Blues’ Dreadful Power Play Needs To Be Addressed
To date, the Blues have come out of the gate struggling offensively this season. Here’s a look at where they rank statistically among the rest of the NHL:
- Team Record: 2-1-1 (5th in division, 7th in conference)
- Goals Scored: 9 (29th in NHL)
- Goals Against: 11 (6th)
- Power Play: 0% (T-32)
- Penalty Kill: 63.6% (30th)
- Faceoff (%): 45.1% (29th)
Top Prospect Dalibor Dvorsky Assigned to OHL
On Oct. 18, the Blues announced that one of their top forward prospects, Dalibor Dvorsky, has been re-assigned from the Swedish Hockey League’s (SHL) IK Oskarshamn to the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Sudbury Wolves. Dvorsky, the club’s 10th overall selection and first of three first-round selections in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, was scoreless through 10 games with IK Oskarshamn before his re-assignment to the Wolves. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said of the decision to move Dvorsky:
“After evaluating Dalibor’s situation in Sweden and talking with him and his representatives, we jointly decided that the opportunity to play regular minutes at Sudbury against his peer group in the OHL would be the best thing for his development at this time. We look forward to watching his continued growth as a player.”
Dvorsky made his mark with the team and in the OHL with one goal and two points through two games this season, including a power play goal in his first game with the club. They will return to action on Friday, Oct. 27 at home welcoming fellow Blues prospect Michael Buchinger and the Guelph Storm to town.
Blues Name 2024 Hall of Fame Class
Established in 2023, the Blues added three members to their Hall of Fame inducting forward Keith Tkachuk, goaltender Mike Liut, and the late Pavol Demitra into the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place on Jan. 19 at the Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis, and on Jan. 20 before the start of their game against the Washington Capitals.
The trio will join the inaugural class including Red Berenson, Glenn Hall, Garry Unger, and Scotty Bowman, along with Bernie Federko, Bob Gassoff, Brett Hull, Al MacInnis, Barclay Plager, Bob Plager, Chris Pronger and Brian Sutter, broadcaster Dan Kelly, and the team’s original owners, the Salomons.
Injury Report
Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich is nearing a return from injury. After taking the ice during practice ahead of Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he remains out due to an upper-body injury. The injury sustained during the club’s home opener against the Seattle Kraken restricted the Russian forward to seven shifts and 5:27 of time on ice. After the practice, Blues head coach Craig Berube said, “He skated the last couple of days, which is great. It’s good to see him out there. He’s making progress, which is good.”
Berube went on to caution expectations of his return emphasizing that he will want to see the forward take contact during practice and that his timeline is still up in the air as he is not shooting very much either.
The Blues will head out on the road to wrap up the month of October. They will head to Winnipeg and face the Jets at 7:45 CDT on Tuesday, Oct. 24 in the first of a three-game series this season.
