Blues can clinch playoff spot in regular-season finale vs. Utah: 6 storylines to know

New York Times

15-04-2025

ST. LOUIS — In one sense, history matters little.
Forget the St. Louis Blues' record against the Arizona/Utah franchise, the success of Nick Schmaltz and St. Louisan Clayton Keller against them, Jordan Binnington's resume on the big stage, how they've been playing lately on home ice, or their three-game winless skid.
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With a trip to the NHL playoffs on the line in the Blues' regular-season finale, the reset button will be hit on all that when they host the Utah Hockey Club at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Enterprise Center.
If St. Louis (94 points) can win in regulation, it'll clinch a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. If not, the Calgary Flames could catch them.
If the Blues lose, the Flames need just 3 points in their last two games to secure the spot. If the Blues win in overtime or a shootout, the Flames could win their last two games in regulation and would have more regulation wins than the Blues (32-31), which is the first tiebreaker.
'I'm really excited,' St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said Monday. 'The word 'opportunity,' to me, is such a positive word. It's an opportunity to seize the moment and to do something special. That's what's in front of us.'
Though it's true in one sense that history will matter little Tuesday, in another sense, it could mean a lot.
The Blues don't have a good track record against their opponent and a couple of its players in particular. And though they would like to think a 0-2-1 record after a 12-game winning streak is nothing to worry about, the club has to climb out of it.
'You just embrace it,' Blues center Robert Thomas said. 'The last couple of years, we haven't been in this spot, and it's been frustrating. You wanted to be in this spot, and now that you're in this spot, you've got to enjoy it.
'We had our backs against the wall coming out of the (4 Nations Face-Off) break and went on a nice run there. Now our backs are against the wall where we have a chance to clinch. We're not scared of it.'
As St. Louis looks to avoid a three-year playoff drought, which would match its franchise high in 2005-08, here's a six-point primer on what you need to know before Tuesday's game.
In the past five seasons, here's where the Arizona/Utah franchise finished in the NHL overall standings: 22nd, 31st, 27th, 27th in Arizona and 19th in its first season in Utah.
Yet in those five years, the Blues' combined record against the club is 10-11-1. The breakdown is 3-4-1 (2020-21), 3-1 (2021-22), 1-2 (2022-23), 2-2 (2023-24) and 1-2 (2024-25).
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That said, captain Brayden Schenn doesn't believe the team's lack of success against Utah is a factor.
'It doesn't do you any good to worry about past records — we need one game,' Schenn said. 'We have one game against them, and we need to go out there, execute and win. They're a good hockey team, lots of skill. At the same time, we're confident in our group where we can go out there, play hard for one another in front of our fans and go out and get 2 points.'
If you've watched the Blues play Utah/Arizona in recent years, you know Keller and Schmaltz have owned them.
In 31 career games versus the Blues, Keller has 12 goals and 22 assists (34 points), including four game-winning goals and a 17.9 percent shooting percentage. In 36 games, Schmaltz has 14 goals and 22 assists (36 points), with two game-winning goals and a 23 percent shooting percentage.
'We're aware,' Schenn said. 'Keller and Schmaltz have been good against us. We don't worry about, kind of, what they've done in the past; it's the next game. There's no sense of looking back and wondering what past stats are against a team. We just have to go out there, have a game plan and execute.'
'Yeah, they've got a ton of skill,' Thomas said. 'Keller is from St. Louis, he loves playing in St. Louis, so it's going to be a tough challenge. I think, for us, if we commit to defense and don't get into a run-and-gun game with them, we're going to find a lot of success through that.'
No one needs to be reminded of Jordan Binnington's performance in Game 7 against the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final. Or the 4 Nations Face-Off with Team Canada.
'He's a gamer, for sure,' Schenn said. 'We've all seen that multiple times and in big games. He's confident in himself and that gives the team confidence.'
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The hockey world witnessed Binnington's heroics six years ago, and they were reminded a couple of months ago.
'We've all known in these big moments how much he's stepped up for us, and now everyone knows it,' Thomas said.
Binnington may be a mediocre 27-22-5 this season with a 2.72 goal-against average and a .900 save percentage, but even he admits something is different in these types of atmospheres and he's typically at his best.
'I don't know, maybe it's just something takes over,' Binnington said. 'I prepare the same way, (but) some moments are bigger than others.'
Playing Tuesday's game at Enterprise Center may not guarantee anything, but it should be an advantage to the Blues after the good run they've had on home ice.
At one point this season, the Blues' record on home ice was 13-14-3 (.483 points-percentage), and they were outscored 88-78 in those games. But since Feb. 23, they are 11-0 (1o of the 11 were won in regulation and one in OT), and they have outscored their opponents 51-21.
'The way we've been able to play at home, the way our fans have been engaged, they bring us a ton of energy even when we're down,' Thomas said. 'To have this one in front of our fans, it's going to be a fun night.'
The Blues have had seven consecutive sellouts of 18,096 at Enterprise Center and little drop-off this season in general, according to research by The Athletic's James Mirtle.
'The fans deserve this moment,' Binnington said. 'They've been great for us down the stretch, and it's definitely exciting to have it on home ice.'
Riding a franchise-high 12-game winning streak, the Blues looked like they might cruise into the playoffs. Then came a three-game road trip against the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken in which the Blues went 0-2-1.
What does the team need to do in order to get back to its winning ways?
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'Our puck pressure needs to be better than it's been,' Montgomery said. 'We've been playing safe. The last couple of wins we had, we could see it. So it's the puck pressure and being more relentless.
'It's hard to be close to perfect, it just is, and the league humbles you when you're not close to perfect. You're not going to be able to play great when you're playing 18 games in the month of March. I mean, it's just not happening.'
But Montgomery realizes it's more than just the schedule. The Blues have to get back to their good habits.
'Forecheck hard, take care of the middle of the ice, win more net-fronts,' Luke Schenn said. 'It's the simple things we've got to execute a little bit better, and play a little bit more aggressive throughout the game that let us have the puck more. It's not from a lack of trying. I just think we have to do a better job of it.'
Everybody's concern is Blues forward Dylan Holloway, and that's understandable. He's been out since April 3 with a lower-body injury, and the Blues are 1-2-1 since he left.
'He's a driver, he's a guy that creates a lot of offense for us, and he's big and powerful,' Schenn said. 'We'd obviously love to have him, but we've got to go out there and get the job done without him.'
Montgomery repeated Monday that Holloway is listed as week-to-week.
'He was on the ice before we went on the (road) trip. He was doing some stick-handling,' Montgomery said. 'But it hasn't been anything rigorous, like even close to being ready to get back on the ice with us.'
So without Holloway, the Blues rolled out some familiar lines in Monday's practice, with Mathieu Joseph in and Dalibor Dvorsky out.
'The success that we've had, it's pretty obvious since Thomas and (Pavel) Buchnevich's game has gone skyward, our success has gone skyward,' Montgomery said. 'But for me, for (Tuesday), everybody relishing their role is important.'
#stlblues practice lineup:
Neighbours-Thomas-BuchnevichSnuggerud-Schenn-KyrouJoseph-Sundqvist-BolducToropchenko-Faksa-WalkerExtras: Dvorsky, Texier
Fowler-ParaykoBroberg-FaulkSuter-LeddyExtras: Tucker, Kessel
BinningtonHofer
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) April 14, 2025
Defensively, Colton Parayko is feeling well after his first game back since early March, so he'll remain in the lineup, and Philip Broberg will play after missing one game for a personal matter.
That created a decision — who to sit on the blueline? — and Montgomery said it will be Tyler Tucker.
'It's really difficult because Tucks has played great for us,' Montgomery said. 'He's a big part of our identity with the physicality and the 'in-y0ur-face' hockey that he plays. But you know, we're going with experience.'
Here's how many games they've each played in the regular season and playoffs:
The Blues have won some important games this season, enough to put them in Tuesday's dramatic finale, and they're expecting the same type of performance.
'We've got five Stanley Cup winners that wore the Blue Note that are still playing for us,' Montgomery said. 'There's a lot of experience in winning throughout our lineup, and I expect those guys to lead us.'
(Top photo of Robert Thomas and teammates: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)