The first time Blues general manager Doug Armstrong addressed his club back in November, he was standing in their locker room, imploring them in person to get a grip on their season.
The impact was negligible.
The second time Armstrong communicated with the team was over the weekend when the Blues became aware that they’d be moving forward without injured forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko. The GM was traveling to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, for the World Junior Championship, so he was limited to reaching out to them via text.
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“The reality is some of the players aren’t playing to the standards they’ve set for themselves in the first 30-plus games and the challenge for them is to get their game back on par and lead us,” Armstrong said, recalling the contents of the conversations. “I’m looking forward to see (Colton) Parayko, (Justin) Faulk and (Nick) Leddy on the back end, and (Brandon) Saad and (Brayden) Schenn get their games up to the standard they demand of themselves. I think once they do that, we’re all going to be able to pull behind. They have to be our best players now and they have to get their game going.”
So, texting may be the way to go from now on.
In a 6-5 shootout win over Toronto in their first game without their two veteran forwards, Schenn and Saad combined for three goals and one assist, while Parayko, Faulk and Leddy combined for 76 minutes, 43 seconds of ice time.
Schenn directed 11 shots at the net, had eight of the Blues’ 52 hits against the Maple Leafs and won the game in the fourth round of the shootout.
Schenn, the team’s alternate captain, who will perhaps take on an even larger leadership role with O’Reilly out, hasn’t been able to speak very loud lately because of a virus that has toned down his voice. It hasn’t silenced his performance, though.
“It’s pretty funny when he’s yelling out there — he whispers — but his play is definitely speaking for him,” Saad said, via Bally Sports Midwest, after the game.
SCHENN CALLS GAME! pic.twitter.com/7D6BWQ1csi
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 4, 2023
After a conversation with Armstrong and prior to flying to Toronto, Schenn spoke with reporters Monday for one of the few times in recent weeks because of the situation with his voice. Though you could barely hear him, he was saying a lot.
“There’s a bunch of us that can play (better), myself included,” Schenn said. “We’ve got to be able to produce and score goals and I will. This is a chance for me to elevate my game. I’ve got to obviously take on a bigger role, and at the same time, don’t try and do anything special. I’m going to focus on myself and playing better and I’m confident I will.”
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He did, but he wasn’t the only one.
Going into Tuesday, Saad had six goals and three assists in 30 games. He had two goals against Toronto, including his team-leading second short-handed goal of the season, which was the first goal in the high-scoring game.
The Blues led 2-0, 3-1, 4-2 and 5-3, but four times after scoring on Tuesday, they gave up a goal to the Maple Leafs within the next five minutes. Saad’s second goal of the game, and 10th of the season, provided the 5-3 lead, which was erased.
But after a thoroughly entertaining overtime — the second between the two teams in the last eight days — Jordan Binnington came up with big saves in the shootout before Schenn won it.
“It’s next-man-up mentality,” Saad said, via Bally Sports Midwest. “We’re missing players, and we’re focused on our group and what we can do here, and that was a big character win for us tonight.”
Brandon Saad on Brayden Schenn, who lost his voice weeks ago and hasn't fully gotten it back yet: "It's pretty funny when he's yelling out there — he whispers — but his play is definitely speaking for him." #stlblues pic.twitter.com/JRutOUkgbd
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) January 4, 2023
One of those next men up was rookie Jake Neighbours, who was playing his first game since being recalled from AHL Springfield (Mass.). He saw 11:27 of ice time and had one assist, setting up the Blues’ fourth goal by Josh Leivo for a 4-2 lead.
Armstrong said earlier this week that the expectations for Neighbours early on this season were perhaps a little too high, and the AHL may have been a little more than the team’s 2020 first-round pick was expecting.
“Like most young players when they go to the American League at the start, the league is probably a little bit better than they thought it was going to be,” Armstrong said. “Then there’s a little bit of that personal feeling of, ‘I wish I wasn’t here.’
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“(But) over the past month, he’s been one of the better players. I get reports after every (minor-league) game, and (on) a lot of nights he’s the best player on the ice on either team. He’s coming along very well.”
Still, Armstrong was somewhat concerned about bringing prospects into this situation.
“Our team game isn’t to the level that allows younger players to be incorporated,” he said. “When you have a strong team game, it’s easy to play a strong team game. But right now, you just have to look at our goal differential, and the Grade-A scoring chances we give up, and it’s a hard game for a young player to play because you’re under stress all the time. Until we’re not under stress as a team, it’s going to be a difficult group to play with and play for.”
The Blues were under a lot of stress defensively on Tuesday, giving up three goals on nine shots in the second period, followed by a barrage of attempts early in the third period. They escaped, but it could be better.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Toronto had eight high-danger scoring chances and netted three goals on those eight chances.
Parayko, who had two assists, was on the ice for three five-on-five goals against in 24:38 of ice time. But Armstrong believes that he’s one of the veterans who’s going to improve his game.
“He’s a better player than he’s showed this year, and he knows it,” Armstrong said. “I’ve got the utmost faith in him that he’s going to find it. Players are going to go through ebbs and flows and, right now, we need our veteran players to lead the group.
“I know they can do it, and I know they want (to) do it because the standard that they set for themselves is probably higher than the standard I set for them. They’ve just got to reach those standards.”
Binnington allowed five goals on 25 shots and wasn’t the sharpest he has been this season, but came up big on several occasions, particularly in the shootout.
This save??????!!!!!!! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/wMNjaK0iyv
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 4, 2023
His .800 save percentage in the game didn’t look good, but he was better than the stats showed.
“I look at some of the last games that Binnington has been in net and he walks out of games with an .890 or a .910 save percentage and he’s the first star by a mile by the number of chances we give up,” Armstrong said. “We have to defend better and take pride in defending and we have to hold everyone accountable to defending. You just look at the underlying stats, our defensive game is poor, and we need our best players to play better (defensively).”
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The Blues were better against the Maple Leafs than they’ve been for much of the season, and that was eye-opening considering the circumstances. It was the type of game, someone suggested on social media, that makes you want to come back and watch the next one. How long that lasts isn’t known.
“We have to get joy back into being a hardworking team that defends first and foremost and plays for the other guys,” Armstrong said. “If we do that, I think we can surprise people. If we don’t do that, it’s going to be a long second half of the season.”
(Photo of Brayden Schenn and Robert Bortuzzo: Dan Hamilton / USA Today)
