After the St. Louis Blues’ disappointing first half of the 2018-2019 season, with uncharacteristic losing streaks, the team has turned over a new leaf. The Blues have won seven straight and look to add to the number.

The boys began their winning streak on January 23, 2019, annihilating the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 in their own rink. After the All-Star break, they returned ready to go with an impressive 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Blues found their winning streak in jeopardy against both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, but the hockey players dug deep and ground out wins. Center Brayden Shenn and rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington took care of business in Tampa as Shenn scored with 58.2 seconds left in overtime, making it 1-0, and Binnington made 32 saves. The Blues topped the Panthers 3-2 when defenseman Vince Dunn scored with 3:53 left in the third period after a two-goal deficit.

“Everyone is really working together and really showing that we care about each other on the ice…When we’re working as a whole, we’re gonna see better results individually and as a team, and I think that’s really starting to show,” Dunn said.

The Blues returned to the Enterprise Center and beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 in front of an animated crowd. Less than 24 hours later, right winger Vladimir Tarasenko skated in to save the day in a second game against the Predators. The teams were tied at four apiece in Nashville, until Tarasenko completed a hat trick by scoring 16 seconds into overtime.

“I just tried to take it to the net. I recognized I beat one guy. Good things happen when you go to the net. It’s an important game for us. It feels nice right now, especially back-to-back against Nashville. We got those four points. It’s huge for our team,” Tarasenko said.

The New Jersey Devils felt the wrath of the Blues on Tuesday night, as St. Louis crushed them 8-3. Both defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and center Ivan Barbashev had two goals and an assist.

“Our team game is really solid right now. Obviously guys are feeling pretty good. I think you can tell in how aggressive we are. Everyone knows how the standings are and how tight it is. If you’re losing a few, you’re sitting on the outside looking in. I think we’ve done a good job of staying even-keeled and not getting too ahead of ourselves and approaching each game one at a time,” left winger Jaden Schwartz said.

The Blues’ red-hot spell has put them into position to possibly make the playoffs, a hopeful dream earlier in the season. To do so, they hope to skate by all of their upcoming competition, starting with the Arizona Coyotes at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 14, 2019.

Sources:

http://www.espn.com/nhl/team/_/name/stl/st-louis-blues

https://www.foxsports.com/midwest/video/1440128067632

https://www.nhl.com/news/new-jersey-devils-st-louis-blues-game-recap/c-304761926