Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Even a couple of days later, the Blues' ouster from the postseason still feels like a shockingly fresh wound. How did something so promising go so wrong so quickly? One moment, the Blues were headed west with a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven, first-round series with the Kings; the next, they lost four straight games, each by a single goal. One moment, it seemed like the Blues were poised to take their revenge, getting the Kings back for sweeping them in 2012; the next, we were left lamenting that Los Angeles had done us in again.
It's basically become an annual tradition for this city's hockey franchise to come up with some creative way to torture its loyal fans. Why were the Blues on the losing end yet again?
When you lose hockey games, the easiest scapegoat is always the goaltender. And it's true that, over the course of this six-game series, Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick outplayed Blues goaltender Brian Elliot. After finishing the season on a hot streak, Elliot surrendered just three goals in the first three games of the series, but then he coughed up nine goals in the final three games.
Many of those scores came with extenuating circumstances—tips, screens, and mistakes from his teammates. But in the end, a goaltender is always measured by the bottom line: goals against. Forget the excuses and explanations. Still, Quick has been the star of the past two postseasons, taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 2012 playoffs. It's no surprise that he was the best goaltender on the ice. Elliot's job was to give the Blues a chance by keeping his team in games. He did. It was up to his teammates to score enough goals to win them. They couldn't.
That is not to say the Blues won't be making any changes in goal this off-season. Since coming to St. Louis from Montreal, Jaroslav Halak has been frustratingly inconsistent. He's been good, but also bad, and often injured. Unhappy with his lack of playing time, he had a shouting match with coach Ken Hitchcock, causing a playoff distraction. With Elliot coming on strong to end the season and rookie Jake Allen showing he's ready for the NHL, it wouldn't be a surprise to see general manager Doug Armstrong look to move Halak.
All that said, the Blues' biggest weakness is perfectly obvious, and it has nothing to do with goaltending. From Bernie to bloggers, everyone who watched this series can agree: The Blues need a marquee scorer. The current crop just isn't cutting it. Chris Stewart led the team in points in the regular season. In this series against the Kings, he mustered just one assist, no goals. David Perron, who had just 10 goals all season, didn't score in the playoffs. T.J. Oshie was a minus-4 in the series. Perron and Patrik Berglund were each minus-3. And on and on.
The Blues are physical. They play good defense. They've got guys who can score. But as has become painfully obvious, they don't have a go-to, marquee goal-scorer. That's how you end up with a disappointing series where the Blues had more scoring chances than the Kings game after game, but failed to cash in. As Bernie Miklasz observed, "These guys couldn't shoot the puck less accurately if you spiked the Gatorade with LSD and sent them on the ice blindfolded."
Heading into next season, the Blues are sure to make a few minor changes. Andy McDonald's contract is up. He's getting old and his production has fallen off. Chances are he won't be re-signed. Young guys like Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Dmitrij Jaskin are likely to see their roles increase.
But it's also clear that this team is good, not great. These guys can compete, but they aren't true cup contenders. Standing pat, waiting for prospects to develop, and hoping for a little more luck next year won't cut it. It's not time to rebuild. But it is time for a bold, splashy move to give this team the big-name goal-scorer it needs so badly.
