Flames at Blues Preview: Blues have to shake off Monday’s dumpster fire

It’s easy to look at Monday’s game and take one of two viewpoints on it: “the less said about it the better,” or “it was a wake-up call.”

The truth is, of course, somewhere in-between. Yes, a loss is a loss, and it doesn’t matter if it’s by the score of 2-1 or 7-1. On the other hand, a 7-1 loss is a very clear sign that a team’s fundamentals may need some tweaking. Sunday’s 3-1 victory in Vancouver was a bit of a warning sign to tighten the defense up - the Blues allowed 39 shots on goal, which didn’t need to happen. Monday night, the Blues saw that shot total and apparently felt that just because they won Sunday, they could do it again against the Flames.

Allowing 48 shots on goal is not going to win you many hockey games, and just because Ville Husso had a standout performance on Sunday doesn’t mean that Jordan Binnington was going to have one on Monday. Clearly, the two goalies are in different places right now, and Binnington is not in a place where he can see 48 shots on net and walk away with a win.

From top to bottom, with maybe the exception of Tyler Bozak, the team was a disaster. Ryan O’Reilly was direct when asked about the result after the game:

“They dominated us from start to finish and that’s not us, that’s not our brand of hockey,” captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “That’s not Blues hockey, and it falls on I think all of us. I don’t think there’s a guy in the room that’s happy with the performance.”

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“But we all got to be responsible, and myself more than others I have to be responsible,” O’Reilly continued. “There was times to find our game and just didn’t do it.”

Will the Blues find their game tonight? They have to. Expect some line switches and some fires lit under asses. Another performance like Monday’s, against the exact same team, with no adjustments, is unacceptable.