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In dispatching the Capitals 5-2 on Thursday night, the Blues have strung together three consecutive wins for the first time this season, becoming the last NHL team to do so. They just happened to do it with a defensive effort that strangled any Washington offense, by handing Alex Ovechkin a minus-4 instead of a statline that brought him closer to Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record, and on the same night that they celebrated captain Brayden Schenn’s 1,000th NHL game.

Philip Broberg scored twice, as the Blues received goals from Dylan Holloway, Colton Parayko and Jake Neighbours (empty net). Joel Hofer made 16 saves, and Robert Thomas (eight games) and Pavel Buchnevich (five games) each extended their point streaks.

“I think everybody here believes in each other,� Broberg said. “We’ve just got to keep building, taking steps and keep working.�

The Blues came into Thursday night 0-7-1 in games in which they had a chance to win a third straight game. Two-game bumps died right there, and some of them were deflating defeats.

There was the Jan. 18 loss in Utah when Thomas and Buchnevich were benched for half of the first period. There was a 6-4 loss to the Blue Jackets that featured a loose third period. A post-Christmas, pre-Winter Classic loss to Buffalo felt like a missed opportunity. And even a Dec. 7 setback in Edmonton dulled momentum early in new coach Jim Montgomery’s tenure with the Blues.

Now, that talking point is gone.

“It’s massive, especially a game like tonight going against one of the best teams in the league and then Schenner’s 1,000th game,� Holloway said. “We wanted this one bad. I know the media, it’s been a thing where we haven’t won three in a row at all this year.

“At times, we’ve been playing some good hockey but recently, we’ve been playing awesome. We’re playing the right way. All four lines are buzzing and playing honest. As long as we keep going, playing the right way, I think we can go on a little run.�

With the win, the Blues (28-26-6) pulled to within three points of Vancouver for the second (and final) wild-card spot playoff in the Western Conference though St. Louis has played one more game than the Canucks have done.

In beating the best team in the Eastern Conference on Thursday night, the Blues continued to give general manager Doug Armstrong something to think about in the week leading up to the trade deadline of March 7. The team will play three more games before the deadline, more data points to give Armstrong a reason to keep the band together through at least April.

“We have a really close, close group in here and everybody is tight-knit,� Parayko said. “It’s a great group of guys that want to win for each other. In this locker room, we’re just going out each game and we’re going to play together and play for each other. Everything else is out of our control and we’re just going to do what we can for each other.�

Armstrong’s history doesn’t point to him being swayed by a bubble team close to the deadline. In 2018, he dealt Paul Stastny when the Blues were one point out of a playoff spot, but had lost six in a row. In 2022, he traded Ryan O’Reilly while the Blues were riding a three-game win streak, but were six points back of a playoff spot.

A week ago, the Blues were closer to a top-five draft pick than they were to a playoff spot. But their recent run has changed the math.

“Feels good, but most importantly, it’s the way we’re doing it,� Montgomery said. “We’re in control of games right now in these three wins. We’ve got to keep it up, we’ve got to stay with the process.�

Indeed the Blues have deserved these wins. They’ve been the better team. They haven’t benefitted from fluky goals or fortunate bounces. They haven’t ridden a scorching power play or Herculean goaltending. They’re simply beating teams.

In the last five games, the Blues have controlled expected goals at 5 on 5, according to Natural Stat Trick. Same with high-danger chances. And it’s resulted in a 19-12 advantage in goals. On Thursday night, the Blues limited Washington to 16 shots on goal at 5 on 5, the lowest total allowed in more than a month.

“Everybody likes to play with the puck, and when you control the game, you have the puck a lot,� Montgomery said. “Everyone feels better about their game, especially the offensive part of the game.�

The Blues still need to string more wins together, of course. In order to reach the Canucks’ current 90-point pace, the Blues need a 14-8-0 record in the remaining 22 games, and the final playoff cutoff likely will be higher than that current threshold. And now, the Blues are one of six teams without a four-game win streak this season.

“It feels nice to get three in a row, but obviously, lots of season left here and a lot of points to be had for everybody,� Parayko said. “We’re right there, and there’s a lot of teams that are close. Everybody’s pushing right now, it’s kind of the fun part of the season. If we keep playing like that, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win a lot of games. That’s all we can do is control how we play and go from there.�