St. Louis Blues Making a Habit of Responding to Adversity

The St. Louis Blues have faced their share of adversity all season long, but they have found ways to conquer whatever is thrown their way. The team got off to a slow start, fired their coach, named an interim coach, battled through goaltender struggles, called up an unknown rookie goalie and were in last place this season. 

The adversity faced and the response to it has only made this team stronger. They are now only one win away from the Stanley Cup Final, where the Boston Bruins are awaiting their opponent. 

Mike Yeo Relieved of Head Coaching Duties

The Blues got off to a slow start to the regular season after some high expectations going into the new season. The 7-8-3 start wound up getting head coach Mike Yeo fired on Nov. 20, 2018. Yeo had taken over for Ken Hitchcock in the 2017 season and went 73-48-11 during his time as the bench boss.

The team named assistant coach Craig Berube as the Interim Head Coach. Berube spent parts of two seasons as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers so he had some experience. It took Craig Berube and the coaching staff some time to turn the season around, but they eventually got it turned around and were playing some good hockey heading into the stretch.

Jake Allen Struggling as Starting Goalie

Jake Allen was the outright number one goaltending going into the regular season, but he struggled mightily and that was a big cause of the Blues struggles. He couldn’t stop the puck and was letting in soft goals regularly. The Blues didn’t have any better options and didn’t want to rush up an AHL goalie, just to possibly be on the bench. Finally, the Blues organization decided to call up rookie goalie Jordan Binnington in late December and he made his first start when the team was in last place and things weren’t looking good.

On Jan. 7, 2019, a relatively unknown rookie goalie made his debut against the Philadelphia Flyers and shut them out. The rookie goaltender, Jordan Binnington, would put the League on notice after that game. Binnington was making saves left and right to eventually take over the number one starting goalie job. Allen went from the starting goalie to riding the pine. It seemed as though having a confident goalie in net helped the whole team including Allen, who played much better when he got into a game.

Last Place to the Postseason

The Blues got off to a slow start, and that continued even after the coaching change. It took Berube about a month and a half to turn things around and that started with the call up of Binnington. In the beginning of January, the Blues were the worst team in the NHL and looked like they would be in the running for the NHL Lottery.

The team managed to turn their season around with a solid second half run. They went from last place in the NHL to third in the Central Division and a date with the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs. They beat the higher seeded Jets in six games and faced the Dallas Stars in the second round. The Blues beat the Dallas Stars in seven games and are currently up 3-2 against the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals.

Postseason Adversity

The adversity didn’t stop once the regular season ended. The team has been down in games and down in series, but they have managed to respond with a win or by putting some goals in the opposition’s net. The Blues went up 2-0 in the series against the Jets and then lost the two home games, but went on to win the series in six games. The Blues managed to win the series against the Stars in the second round.

The most adversity in the playoffs has come in the series against the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks won the first game of the series by a score of 6-3. In the second game, the Blues came back and won the game 4-2 to even the series. The biggest test of the postseason came in game three at home when the Sharks scored the game-winning goal in overtime on a hand pass, which was missed by the refs. The play was not reviewable so the goal stood, but the Blues have come back to win the next two games of the series to take a 3-2 games lead. 

The Blues have been responding to adversity all season long and it has brought them within a game of the Stanley Cup Final.