ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

Knock, knock.

It’s the Blues, and here they come.

The Blues climbed within one point of a playoff spot Saturday night by beating the Kings 4-1 for their fourth straight win, combined with losses by Vancouver and Calgary. Eight days earlier, the Blues were eight points from the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, with Utah and Anaheim each with a better points percentage at the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

But a lot can change in a week.

“It’s a good little week for us,� Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. “We’ve just got to keep going, and we still know there’s lots of hockey left for the season and a lot of ways the season can go. As a group, we understand where we’re at and what we’ve got to do. For us, we’ve got to control what we can control. Come to the rink prepared each day and put our best foot forward and give ourselves a chance to win every night.�

The Blues closed a perfect week Saturday by scoring the last four goals of the game against Los Angeles, winning for the third time in the past four games that the opposition has scored first.

Parayko scored his 15th goal of the season. Pavel Buchnevich scored to extend his point streak to six games, and Robert Thomas ran his assist streak to nine games. Zack Bolduc scored for the third time in the past three games. Dylan Holloway’s two-point night gave him 45 on the season. And goaltender Jordan Binnington hasn’t lost in regulation in almost five weeks.

“It’s very enjoyable to watch our team play as committed as they are for each other,� Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s very selfless hockey going on right now. How excited the bench gets no matter who scores, the blocked shots at the end, the unselfish changes, changing at the right time. Middle lane drives, boxing out at the net, sacrificing for each other — all those things make it fun to watch right now.�

The Blues, heading into their game Sunday in Dallas, owned the longest active win streak in the Western Conference and did so at a time when Vancouver emerged from the break with a 1-4-0 record and when Calgary had lost 5 of its past 7 games. Utah’s surge was stunted Saturday with a loss to the Devils.

While scoreboard-watching makes for active nights and external rooting interests, the Blues know what’s in front of them in the final 21 games: their own fate.

“I think our group is fully aware that we control our own destiny if we continue to play the right way,� Montgomery said. “That’s what we’re committed on. We’re on to the next game. We know it’s going to be a tough challenge (Sunday), but we’re looking forward to it.�

What the Blues are doing may feel fluky because of who they resembled in the first two-thirds of the season. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were the only NHL team without a three-game win streak. They bobbed up to middling and down to disappointing. A third straight missed postseason seemed inevitable, a deadline selloff, plausible.

The thing is, though, that these wins have been deserved.

At five on five, they’ve had more expected goals than their opponent in each of the past six games, according to Natural Stat Trick. They haven’t allowed 30 shots on goal since Feb. 6 against Florida. They’ve limited high-danger chances. They’ve combined a potent rush attack with an aggressive forecheck. Despite Kevin Fiala’s power-play goal on Saturday night, the penalty kill has extinguished 8 of the past 9 chances.

“Obviously, results help bring the process along and really take it to another level,� Thomas said. “That’s what we’ve been getting out of the break. Now, we’ve just got to stick with it. You’re not always going to be able to score four or five goals a game. Got to be able to win close games and trust it’s going to work out in your favor most nights.�

The Blues have scored in bunches and bunches. They scored the last three goals of the game against the Avalanche. They scored the first seven goals against the Kraken. They scored the last three goals against the Capitals and then the final four against the Kings.

As for a turning point? Well, Montgomery picks out the first practice after the break, in which Alexey Toropchenko knocked Buchnevich to the ice with a reverse hit in the corner. When Buchnevich got up, there was a smile.

“There was another level of work equals fun,� Montgomery said. “You’re seeing it right now. They’re just working. They’re not even thinking about it. The second and third effort is natural. We’re stopping on pucks. There’s smiles on their faces because they’re playing with the puck a lot and they’re getting a lot of opportunities to make plays.�

The Blues haven’t shied away from the top competition they’ve faced, either.

They should have beaten the league-leading Jets on Feb. 22 but lost in a shootout after allowing a late extra-attacker goal. For the past five years, Colorado has been the best team in the West. The Blues beat them Feb. 23. On Thursday, they dispatched of the East-leading Capitals.

Should they beat the Stars on Sunday, the Blues would pick up five of six points against the top three teams in the NHL.

The math has changed for the Blues, a result of both their win streak and the slumps from the Canucks and Flames. What appeared to be a race to 95 points could end up being one to ... 90 points? Before Sunday, Vancouver was on pace for 89 points, which would require the Blues to go just 12-8-1 for the balance of their season.

“We came back in with a fresh mindset and knew exactly what we needed to do,� Thomas said. “We’re doing it so far.�