The Blues are down to two.
After Tuesday night’s 3-1 loss to Blue Jackets, St. Louis has just two remaining preseason games before it opens the season next week in Seattle. Justin Faulk scored for the Blues on the power play, while Joel Hofer played the entire game in goal.
With the loss, the Blues dropped to 1-4-0 in their five preseason games, with just Thursday’s game against Dallas and Saturday’s game against Chicago (in Milwaukee) remaining on the schedule.
Power play on the board
For the first time this preseason, the Blues iced what is expected to be their top power-play unit on Tuesday night. It consisted of Jake Neighbours at the net front, Jordan Kyrou in the left circle, Pavel Buchnevich in the slot, Robert Thomas in the right circle and Justin Faulk at the point.
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The unit scored in the second period when Faulk cashed in on an extended possession in the offensive zone with a one-timer from the top of the circle. Thomas fed Neighbours on a cross-seam pass and then Neighbours teed up Faulk for the Blues’ second power-play goal of the preseason.
Faulk is the only change to the top unit from a season ago, when Torey Krug quarterbacked the No. 1 unit, but Krug is out for the season after undergoing ankle surgery. Faulk previously directed the second unit but hasn’t been the primary option since he was traded from Carolina in 2019.
At even strength, Faulk sprung two Blues with long stretch passes in the first period, setting up Thomas and Brandon Saad with prime chances.
The Blues will hope to have a more productive power play early in the season after its futility helped contribute to the firing of Craig Berube last season. St. Louis ranked 31st in the league at the time of Berube’s dismissal and was 13th the rest of the season.
The second power-play unit hasn’t been unveiled, and the Blues are working through their options at the point. Scott Perunovich skated there Tuesday night, but Ryan Suter, Nick Leddy and Colton Parayko all have NHL experience on the power play. Coach Drew Bannister tossed out Philip Broberg’s name as a potential candidate as well.
Hofer’s full game
As the Blues ramp up to the regular season, Tuesday was the first time that a St. Louis goaltender played an entire preseason game. Hofer received the start against Columbus and made 32 saves.
Hofer allowed two goals in the second period, one on the power play and one at even strength.
Yegor Chinakhov scored on the power play, capitalizing on a puck that found him in the left circle to avoid a falling Nathan Walker to beat Hofer. Gavin Brindley scored directly off a faceoff win by Luca Del Bel Belluz, beating Hofer with a shot from a similar angle to Chinakhov’s goal.
While Jordan Binnington is still expected to receive the start on opening day in Seattle next week, Hofer should play a game on the opening three-game trip as the Blues have a back-to-back with San Jose on Thursday and Vegas on Friday.
Hofer made 22 saves in the opening 40 minutes but wasn’t asked to make many high-danger saves. It’s anticipated that Binnington will play a full game in one of the two final preseason contests.
- Defenseman Tyler Tucker got in a fight with Mathieu Olivier in the third period after a scrum at the Blues net front. Tucker’s lone punch spun Olivier’s helmet around his head, while Olivier’s only shot dropped Tucker to the ice.