ST. LOUIS — The fun is over, and it's time to get back to work.
After a visit to the White House, the St. Louis Blues will begin a four-game home-stand at Enterprise Center beginning with the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
The trip to meet with the president was the official wrap-up of the 2018-19 season. Nearly every Blues player, coach, and administrator within the organization has expressed the desire to move past the Stanley Cup win and focus on the current season.
It's definitely time to focus after blowing a two-goal lead to lose the game in overtime on Monday to the Islanders.
That loss capped off a four-game road trip where the Blues went 2-1-1. This wasn't bad considering they've picked up at least 1 point in 5 of their 6 games.
This puts the Blues at third in the Central Division behind Nashville who also has 8 points, and Colorado who has yet to lose this season.
The season is young, but the games won't be getting any easier in the next five days.
The Canucks are currently ranked fifth in the Pacific Division, but simultaneously have six points on the season after losing only two of their five games.
When you think of top-tier teams in the National Hockey League, Vancouver doesn't usually come to mind. Probably because they haven't made it to postseason since 2015, and have been rebuilding for the past few years.
But the NHL is too competitive to overlook any team on the schedule, and Vancouver has some sneaky, young talent they will be utilizing.
Vancouver's biggest strength, arguably, is its top line consisting of J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser.
Pettersson, the 20-year-old Swede, was a standout in the league last year in his rookie season where he tallied 28 goals and 66 points. His speed, shot, and skill makes him hard for defensemen to stop.
Miller made his way to Vancouver from Tampa this season and has three goals in five games, including two in his last. Boeser is Vancouver's other young stud. His physical presence and speed will be a good match-up for the Blues top line.
Shut these three down and you'll have yourself a hockey game.
It's no secret that the Blues have a roster comprised of players who can combat this, but the focus for this team has been finding ways to maintain a lead and not turn the puck over.
Between Brayden Schenn's hot streak and support from secondary scoring, there hasn't been a lack of offense in these first 6 games.
From the other side, the Blues have allowed 3.33 goals per game.
The losses so far result from an inconsistent full 60 minutes of hockey. Schenn can only score so many goals to keep up with the turnovers and opposing team short-handed goals.
Blues head coach Craig Berube made it clear the key moving forward is making sure defensemen accurately clear the puck, maintain control of the neutral zone, and focus on decreasing offensive turnovers.
