Golden Knights at Blues Preview: Sooner or later

You could be forgiven for expecting the Blues to leave Colorado with at least one point, at least if you were watching until about 19:20 of the third period. The Blues and Avalanche both played a tight game Saturday night with playoff pacing. If you stayed up late to catch all of it, there shouldn’t be any guilt on your part - this wasn’t a blowout. This was a game that, until the end, the Blues could have won.

And then, with just 40 seconds left on a egregious defensive lapse by Ryan O’Reilly, Cale Makar gets the go-ahead goal and another strong performance is wasted.

That’s been the frustrating thing about the Blues’ six game slide. Many of the games have not been loss causes. Some of them have seen the Blues play with the best effort that they’ve exhibited in months, like Saturday’s loss to Colorado, or the Blues’ 2-0 loss to the Wild back on March 25th.

So yeah, it’s frustrating to watch the team slide to just a point out of fourth place.

They’re not the only team in the West slumping right now, if you stretch the meaning of the term. The Vegas Golden Knights have gone 0-2-1 over their last three games, and have scored just five goals over that time. They’re still 14 games over .500 and solidly second place in the West, though, so don’t go feeling sorry for them.

The Blues’ PK held the powerful Avalanche power play to nil on four chances, and goaltender Ville Husso turned in a masterclass of a performance that could be a sign of him finding his groove. There was no quit in the Blues Saturday night, but Makar’s goal was a backbreaker. What does that mean for tonight? Do the Blues come out roaring again and get some offense? Do they come out strong and have nothing to show for it? One option that won’t happen tonight - that really can’t happen tonight - is that the Blues roll over for Vegas.

The streak has to break sooner or later, and if the Blues want to get back into playoff contention, the sooner the better.