The St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks will each look to break out of a slump when the division rivals face off Saturday in Chicago.
The Blues (33-33-12, 78 points) have lost four of their past six games (2-3-1) after going 10-1-2 in their previous 13. That successful stretch saw St. Louis pull to within four points of the second wild card from the Western Conference into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with a game in hand at that time.
“We seemed to have lost how fast we played north and how quickly we were attacking their net,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said after a 3-2 home loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. “A problem last game (a 3-1 home setback to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday) and today’s game is us taking away east-west plays in our own end. That’s something we’ve got to improve upon here and work on tomorrow.”
The current skid has seen St. Louis fall seven points back of the Los Angeles Kings for that final spot, with three other teams (Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, San Jose Sharks) between them. Four games remain for all but Nashville, which has three left.
The Blues’ slim hopes were all but officially dashed with the loss to the Jets. That official elimination from postseason contention could come Saturday with a regulation loss to Chicago, a Kings win against the Edmonton Oiler or a Blues OT loss combined with either one point gained by the Kings or a Predators win against the Minnesota Wild.
“It’s pride,” Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. “It’s a privilege to play in this league every single day you show up to the rink and play in the NHL. It’s even more special to wear the Blue Note. I’ve been fortunate to do it for 11 years and you can’t take that lightly. It’s going to, for me, be easy to show up and play for this Blue Note.”
The Blackhawks (28-37-14, 70 points) were officially eliminated from contention following a 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on April 2. That defeat is part of a 1-6-1 stretch for Chicago, which sits second to last in the NHL standings, ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks.
Most recently, the Blackhawks dropped a 7-2 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday in the opener of their four-game homestand to close out the season.
“We’ve done a pretty good job all year of competing pretty hard,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said. “I don’t want to overreact to a bad night. It’s frustrating, for sure. Our fans deserve better, for sure. I recognize all of that. But there are (bad) nights that happen, and this was one of them.”
While the bright spots have been few and far between for the Blackhawks over the second half of the season, there has been one during their current skid: Anton Frondell.
The 18-year-old forward, the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, scored both Chicago goals in the loss to Carolina and has eight points (three goals, five assists) in nine games since his debut on March 24.
“I love to score,” Frondell said. “It’s the best feeling ever. Of course, fun for me to score, score two goals, but it sucks to lose.”
–Field Level Media
