TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES With the calendar flipped to November, the Blues are hoping to put their recent struggles behind them and turn the tide on the early days of their season. Their 5-1 loss vs. the Los Angeles Kings at Enterprise Center on Monday was a difficult one, leading to GM Doug Armstrong speaking to the team and then the media on Tuesday at Centene Community Ice Center.
"It's (been) ten percent of the season," said Armstrong. "So I don't want to overreact, but we certainly can't underreact... I believe in the coach, I believe in the system - this isn't a system issue, it's a competitive issue... I do believe in this group."
The offense that electrified a season ago has gone cold to start the year, with the Blues ranking last in the NHL in goals-scored-per-game thus far. With eight 20-goal scorers from 2021-22 still on the roster, it would seem like only a matter of time before the goals start flowing again.
The Blues host the Islanders on Thursday to wrap up their three-game - and four out of five - homestand before a two-game road trip in Boston and Philadelphia next week.
Currently, their record of 3-5-0 is worth six points and eighth place in the Central Division.
ISLANDERS The New York Islanders are off to a solid start, continuing their strong second half from last season. An 11-game losing streak last November effectively ended their season before it could get going, and they ended up the first team outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
The Islanders are on an active four-game win streak heading into Thursday's game in St. Louis, including an impressive win over the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 29. Trailing 3-0 midway through the second period, New York scored five unanswered goals for a comeback win over the defending champions.
Ilya Sorokin has been red hot between the pipes during this recent stretch, winning his last three starts and stopping 95 out of 98 shots faced. Among NHL goaltenders who have started at least five games this year, Sorokin ranks No. 3 in goals-against average (2.04) and No. 4 in save percentage (.935) as of Wendesday afternoon.
New York brings a 6-4-0 record to Enterprise Center, worth 12 points and fourth place in the Metropolitan Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues went 1-1-0 against the Islanders last season, with each team winning on their home ice. The Blues have won their last two matchups at Enterprise Center, including a 6-1 win on April 9 last season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Vladimir Tarasenko, who is slated to dress in his 615th career game and will surpass Barclay Plager for 12th on the Blues all-time leaderboard. In 15 career games against the Islanders, Tarasenko has nine goals and six assists for 15 total points.
ISLANDERS Mathew Barzal, who agreed to an eight-year, $73.2 million contract extension with the Islanders during training camp this year. Still looking for his first goal, the 25-year-old forward shares No. 7 in the NHL with 10 assists this season.
BLUE NOTES
Thomas Greiss and Nick Leddy were members of the Islanders in 2018-19 when Greiss and Robin Lehner won the Jennings Trophy as the goaltenders on the team with the fewest goals allowed in a season... Greiss played five seasons and 193 games as an Islander, and Leddy played seven seasons and 518 games... Leddy scored one of his two goals as a Blue last season in the April 9 game against his former club... The Blues have given up just five first-period goals this season, sharing fourth fewest in the NHL.
Skidding Blues look to knock down surging Islanders
The New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues are traveling in opposite directions heading into their game Thursday night.
The streaking Islanders have won four straight games while the slumping Blues have recorded five consecutive regulation losses for the first time since February of 2018.
New York opened its three-game road trip with a 3-1 victory Tuesday at Chicago. The Blues, who fell to Los Angeles 5-1 Monday, will cap a three-game homestand when the Islanders pay a visit.
First-year Islanders coach Lane Lambert is pleased with the state of his team.
"I liked our compete, and I liked our battle," Lambert said after his team dispatched the Blackhawks. "I thought going down a centerman early in the game, the guys showed a lot of resolve, guys who played in some unfamiliar areas. I thought they picked up the slack."
The Islanders had to adjust to losing center Casey Cizkas, who exited with a game misconduct for goaltender interference against Chicago. Also, the Islanders were missing forward Matt Martin, who took a paternity leave.
But depth has been one of the Islanders' strengths this season. They have seven players with three or more goals through 10 games, with Brock Nelson (four goals, seven assists) and Anders Lee (five goals, five assists) setting the pace. Mathew Barzal (10 assists) also is playing well.
Meanwhile, the Blues have been outscored 25-8 during their downturn while struggling in all facets of the game. Captain Ryan O'Reilly (one goal, no assists, minus-11 rating) and Jordan Kyrou (three goals, no assists, minus-13) have had an especially hard time.
"We're not direct," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "And if you're not direct, and you're not predictable, and you're not hungry, and you're not desperate out there, if you don't want to dig in and play hard, you're gonna get beat. I don't care what team you're playing. You'll get beat. And that's got to change."
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong addressed the team Tuesday and sounded a clear warning.
"We need to make sure that this is ground zero and start making our way up," Armstrong said. "And what I said to the players -- we may or may not win on Thursday. Obviously, we're in the winning business, but what we need to see is a competitive level higher than what we have now."
If Armstrong doesn't see progress, the roster could be due for an overhaul.
"Everyone (has) the term retooling, rebuilding," Armstrong said. "Whatever 're' is, it sucks. I don't want to be a 're' anything. I want to continue what we're doing now, and again, it's very self-serving because I put this together. But we're not in the belief business, we're in the winning business."
Blues winger Brandon Saad remains out of action with an upper-body injury. He is listed as day-to-day and did not practice Wednesday.
Martin is listed as day-to-day for the Islanders, but Lambert does expect him to return from paternity leave sometime during the team's road trip.
