Sharks at Blues preview: Blues can re-group against sub-par Sharks

After a three game road trip that saw the Blues snag only one point out of six, it’s nice that the team’s back on home ice for an extended homestand. Five games in a row at Enterprise Center, and a few wins in there too, are exactly what Blues fans need to forget about last week.

The team’s more than likely moved on and learned a few lessons from their trip out west. They’ve certainly moved on from the last time that the San Jose Sharks were in St. Louis. The Sharks have yet to figure out a way to rebound this season after firing coach Pete DeBoer and losing captain Joe Pavelski this summer to the Stars in free agency. They’re the best of the California teams, but that’s not saying much. They’re third from the bottom in the Western Conference and own a 19-21-4 record. They’re also 8-10-3 on the road and 4-4-2 in their last ten.

The Blues may’ve blown a 3-0 lead to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, but at least they did that over the course of three periods. The Sharks were up by two with a minute left to play against the Capitals Saturday night, and blew the game 5-4 in overtime. For the Blues, the loss was a learning opportunity. For the Sharks, it’s symptomatic of a season that’s becoming one of the more frustrating in recent memory.

The last time the Blues met up with the Sharks it was in San Jose, and the Blues skated away with a 5-2 victory. The Sharks aren’t scoring and are giving up way too many goals (their -29 goal differential is the worst in the West and second-worst in the league). Whether that’s a goaltending problem with Martin Jones or a defense issue is up for debate, but neither has the numbers needed for a successful season. The offense isn’t terrible, with Evander Kane looking to have a season like he hasn’t had for a while, and Logan Couture being consistently dangerous, but the Blues should be able to exploit Jones’ shortcomings to get back on track.