Things aren’t going well for the St. Louis Blues at the moment.
The Blues are coming off an 8-3 spanking at the hands of Central Division rival, the Minnesota Wild, and are free falling down the standings in the Western Conference after dropping their seventh straight game. Tired of being embarrassed, head coach Mike Yeo seems to have hit a tipping point with his players following their most recent loss.
Following the game, Yeo was interviewed by media members and did not hold back the candor when asked about the effort levels from some of his players. While Yeo didn’t specifically call out any particular players he did signal out two groups that he was both happy and unhappy with.
The message to the Blues was loud and clear: if you’re play doesn’t improve and you continue to disrespect your goaltenders, then you won’t play.
"Too many guys right now that aren't giving us a chance to win hockey games. As a team game, there's actually a number of guys that I really liked the effort of and what they gave us tonight. We'll make sure that those guys continue doing that and then we'll make decisions after that as far as who wants to play and who wants to be in the lineup."
"The level of some players needs to come up, it's that simple," Yeo said following the game.
Jake Allen was pulled after allowing five goals on eight shots, and while there’s no doubt Allen needs to be better if the Blues want to push for a playoff run, Yeo isn’t ready to point the finger at his netminder/
"You know what? It's a matter of pride as far as I'm concerned. "You give up eight goals, c'mon. We've given up 16 in the last three games. We've always been one of the top defensive teams.”
“The turnovers that we have and the lack of respect that we have for our goaltenders and for the game of hockey — that's ridiculous."
While this was minor compared to the Yeo we’ve seen in the past, the pressure is definitely on in St. Louis.
The Blues will look to turn things around quickly, as the team gets back in action on Wednesday when they visit the Red Wings. After starting the season as one of the NHL’s hottest teams, St. Louis sits three points out in the final Wild Card Spot in the Western Conference after the L.A. Kings defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in the second half of a back-to-back on Tuesday. The Blues trail Yeo’s old Minnesota club by seven points for the third spot in the Central.
During Monday’s trade deadline, the Blues traded away pending unrestricted free agent Paul Statsny, something that didn’t sit well with Brayden Schenn.
