Game Day: Blues finish regular season vs. Utah with chance to clinch playoff spot

Jordan Binnington will start in goal for the Blues on Tuesday night in the regular-season finale against Utah at Enterprise Center, as ��ѿ��ý has a chance to clinch a postseason berth.

A reminder of the ways the Blues can clinch a playoff berth on Tuesday.

-- A regulation win over Utah.

-- An overtime or shootout win and any result but a Flames regulation win (a Calgary overtime or shootout win would still mean the Blues clinch).

-- An overtime or shootout win and the Wild lose to the Ducks in regulation.

-- An overtime or shootout loss and the Flames lose to the Golden Knights in any fashion.

-- A Flames regulation loss to Vegas.

Asked how he would address his team before the game, Blues coach Jim Montgomery said: “It’s pretty simple actually. There’s a reason why we’re here. We put ourselves in this situation. There’s an identity we believe in. We know how to go out and execute our game plan, and we’re going to go out and do it.”

Defenseman Philip Broberg will play after missing Saturday night's game in Seattle for personal reasons. With Broberg back, Tyler Tucker will be a healthy scratch on the back end.

Projected Blues lineup on Tuesday vs. Utah, 7 p.m.

Jake Neighbours - Robert Thomas - Pavel Buchnevich

Jimmy Snuggerud - Brayden Schenn - Jordan Kyrou

Mathieu Joseph - Oskar Sundqvist - Zack Bolduc

Alexey Toropchenko - Radek Faksa - Nathan Walker

Cam Fowler - Colton Parayko

Philip Broberg - Justin Faulk

Ryan Suter - Nick Leddy

Jordan Binnington

Joel Hofer

Scratches: Dalibor Dvorsky, Alexandre Texier, Tyler Tucker, Matthew Kessel, Dylan Holloway (lower-body).

Injured reserve: Torey Krug (ankle surgery).

Blues have multiple ways to clinch playoffs. The simplest? Beat Utah in regulation.

When the Blues host the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday night in the regular-season finale, they will have a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a regulation win.

Hochman: 5 reasons why Blues will win Tuesday’s crucial game and make playoffs

Coach Jim Montgomery has the ��ѿ��ý Blues in a good spot mentally for Tuesday's huge game.

Tipsheet: Fast-finishing Flames push Blues into must-win mode

The late-charging Calgary Flames are making the Blues earn their ticket to the playoff bracket.

Jake Neighbours among four Blues players to play in all 82 games this season

For the first time in his NHL career, Blues forward Jake Neighbours will play all 82 games when he takes the ice Tuesday night against Utah.

Neighbours is one of four Blues to reach the milestone this season, joined by Brayden Schenn, Jordan Kyrou and Ryan Suter. It is Suter’s seventh straight season playing every game, while it is the third straight for Schenn and the second in a row for Kyrou.

“I think it’s something subtle but something that means a lot,” Neighbours said. “It’s a grueling season, especially with the way I play the game, how hard I play. It’s a lot of maintenance, a lot of taking care of yourself and just been fortunate to stay healthy.”

Neighbours would have likely played all 82 games last season, but a hit in San Jose in the 77th game ruled him out of the last five games of the year. Before that, he was up and down between AHL affiliate Springfield (Massachusetts) and ��ѿ��ý and suffered shoulder injuries that kept him off the ice.

This season, Neighbours is one of the Blues’ most physical players, ranking fourth on the team in hits (173) and third in hits taken (120) behind defensemen Philip Broberg (135) and Colton Parayko (125).

Schenn is third in hits and 15th in hits taken.

“Both of them, they play the game with complete disregard for their bodies,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said of Schenn and Neighbours. “So for them to be able to battle through a lot of games where they’re probably at 75% physically speaks about their commitment to the team.”

There were times this season when Neighbours looked unlikely to reach 82 games played.

He was hit in the head in Florida on a late hit by Panthers forward Sam Bennett in December. Earlier that week, he was tripped into the boards by Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler. In late November, he was blindsided by Rangers forward Matt Rempe in front of the Blues bench.

Through those, Neighbours has posted his second straight 20-goal season and set a new career high with 45 points (22 goals and 23 assists).

If Neighbours wants to look for someone to emulate, he just has to look to the locker stall to his right, where Schenn sits. Neighbours, of course, lived with Schenn when he first arrived in the NHL and has grown closer to the Blues captain since becoming a fixture in ��ѿ��ý.

“That’s one of the No. 1 things he taught me when I first got here was not even him necessarily teaching me but me watching the amount of treatment he gets on his body, taking care of himself when he’s at the rink, away from the rink, his diet,” Neighbours said. “Those are the things that go such a long way when you play so many games. Definitely owe a lot to him in terms of teaching me that side of it. I think it’s helped me.”

Last year, the Blues set a franchise record by having seven players play in 82 games. Otherwise, this year’s group of four players would have tied the club record last accomplished in 2006-07 (Eric Brewer, Radek Dvorak, Lee Stempniak, Doug Weight).

The Blues have endured some sizeable losses throughout the season, including Nick Leddy for 49 games, Colton Parayko for 18, Philip Broberg for 14, Radek Faksa and Robert Thomas for 12. Dylan Holloway will miss his fifth straight game on Tuesday with a lower-body injury that figures to cost him playoff games, too, as he has not returned to skating with the Blues yet.

��ѿ��ý Blues

Clinched! Blues secure postseason berth with 6-1 win over Utah, will open vs. Jets

Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

��ѿ��ý Blues

How four qualities led the Blues back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022

Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

��ѿ��ý Blues

Blues have multiple ways to clinch playoffs. The simplest? Beat Utah in regulation.

Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

��ѿ��ý Blues

What are the reasons for Blues' post-break turnaround that has them on brink of playoffs?

Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Fast-finishing Flames push Blues into must-win mode

Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

Blues have multiple ways to clinch playoffs. The simplest? Beat Utah in regulation.

Blues defenseman Jordan Faulk, center, battles for the puck with Utah winger Matias Maccelli in a game on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, at Enterprise Center.

Christian Gooden, Post-Dispatch

The Blues have one last chance to control their season.

When they host the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday night in their regular-season finale, they will have a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a regulation win. Any other outcome will leave their postseason status in the hands of other teams.

“The word opportunity, to me, is such a positive word,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s an opportunity to seize the moment, to do something special. That’s what’s in front of us.”

The Blues enter their final game of the regular season with 94 points through 81 games. They trail the Minnesota Wild (95 points in 81 games) by one point for the first wild-card playoff spot in the NHL’s Western Conference. They are up two points on Calgary (92 points in 80 games) for the second, and last, playoff spot in the West.

All three teams play Tuesday night. The Blues host Utah at 7 p.m. The Wild play the Ducks at 7 p.m., and the Flames face off with the Golden Knights at 8 p.m.

There are five ways the Blues can clinch a playoff berth on Tuesday:

A regulation win over Utah.
An overtime or shootout win plus any Calgary result but a Flames regulation win (a Calgary overtime or shootout win still would mean the Blues clinch).
An overtime or shootout win and the Wild lose to the Ducks in regulation.
An overtime or shootout loss and the Flames lose to the Golden Knights in any fashion.
A Flames regulation loss to Vegas.

If the Blues don’t clinch a playoff berth on Tuesday, they still could do so on Thursday with a Flames regulation loss in Los Angeles, and more still possibilities could open depending on results on Tuesday.

“If they told us at 4 Nations (Face-Off) break that we have Game 82 at home to go out there and have a chance to clinch a playoff spot, I think we would all take that,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “This is what we play for. Chances like this and opportunities like this are what make the game exciting. Go out there and play hard for one another, play hard in front of our fans. I think we’re all looking forward to the opportunity.”

This is will be the fourth time this season that the Blues will be able to clinch a playoff spot.

A week ago Monday in Winnipeg, they could have done so with a regulation win and a Flames regulation loss. Same scenario for Wednesday in Edmonton. On Sunday, the idle Blues could have clinched with a just Calgary regulation loss.

But the previously red-hot Blues have cooled since setting a franchise record with a 12-game win streak. They’ve lost three straight games for the first time since January, even though they did pull out a point on Saturday in a shootout loss in Seattle.

“It’s hard to be close to perfect,” Montgomery said. “It just is. And then the league humbles you when you’re not close to perfect. That’s just what it is. It’s normal. You’re not going to be able to play great when you’re playing (15) games in the month of March. It’s just not happening.”

It helps that the Blues have won their past 11 games at home, and another win Tuesday would mark the eighth time in the last decade that an NHL team won 12 straight at home.

The Blues have shown up for big games this season. They won their season opener, in Seattle. They won Montgomery’s debut behind the Blues’ bench, in New York. They won the Winter Classic, in Chicago, twice at home vs. Calgary in January, Brayden Schenn’s 1,000th career game and a massive (at the time) one vs. Vancouver.

“More importantly than the games we’ve already had success is we’ve got five Stanley Cup winners that wore the blue note that are still playing for us,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got Nick Leddy, we’ve got (Ryan) Suter, a (defensive) corps that has played so many games and so many playoff games. There’s a lot of experience in winning throughout our lineup, and I expect those guys to lead us.”

Schenn, Robert Thomas, Colton Parayko, Oskar Sundqvist and Jordan Binnington are the remaining Blues that won in 2019.

“We know what’s at stake here,” Binnington said. “It’s in our control, and that’s what we’ve been doing all year is just focusing on what’s in our control and not thinking of anything more than that. Just stick to our gameplan, believe in each other.”

Schenn added: “We’re confident in our group where we can go out and play hard for one another in front of our fans and go out and get two points.”

Holloway update

Montgomery said forward Dylan Holloway remains week-to-week because of a lower-body injury suffered on April 3.

“He was on the ice before we went on the (recent) trip,” Montgomery said. “He was doing some stickhandling, but it hasn’t been anything rigorous even close to being ready to get back on the ice with us. So it’s week-to-week.”

The Blues are 1-2-1 in the four games that Holloway has been out of the lineup.

Defenseman Philip Broberg (personal) and forward Alexandre Texier (upper-body) were on the ice for Blues practice on Monday afternoon, and will be available for Tuesday’s game. With Broberg back and Parayko’s return on Saturday, Tyler Tucker was the odd man out on defense during practice.

“It’s really difficult because ‘Tucks’ has played great for us,” Montgomery said. “He’s a big part of our identity with the physicality and the in-your-face hockey that he plays. We’re going with experience tomorrow night.”

��ѿ��ý Blues

How Colton Parayko helped the Blues edge closer to the playoff bracket

Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

��ѿ��ý Blues

Blues move closer to playoff berth clinch with 4-3 shootout loss

Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: There's no forgetting Frozen Four glory for Blues' Jim Montgomery, Matthew Kessel

Lynn Worthy | Post-Dispatch

Hochman: 5 reasons why Blues will win Tuesday’s crucial game and make playoffs

We can look at Tuesday’s Blues game two ways.

On one hand, the Blues are losers of three straight contests and have lacked the forechecking and scoring essential for winning hockey. Oh, and key player Dylan Holloway still is out.

And now they must win in regulation Tuesday to control their playoff destiny.

On the other hand, slightly bigger picture. By the 4 Nations Face-Off break, their season seemingly was over. Since then, the Blues posted an improbable 18-4-3 record.

And now they must win in regulation Tuesday to control their playoff destiny.

Both scenarios are true, but I believe the positivity of the second one will come into play — and seep into the Blues’ play. If they win in regulation Tuesday at home against Utah, they’re in the playoffs. If they don’t win in regulation, it will take other teams’ failures to get them in.

I believe they will get their win.

Here’s why:

1. Quite simply, I just don’t see it end this way. The 12-game win streak was electric and emphatic. These players know they still have that type of hockey in them. It hasn’t vanished, per se. So you merge confidence with urgency and you’ve got a nice on-ice recipe. The Utah Hockey Club is an up-and-coming team, notably with ��ѿ��ýan Clayton Keller (credit to the local kid who has 85 points in 79 games this season). But Utah’s season is, for all intents and purposes, over, as Tuesday’s game will be its finale. One would think that the Blues’ (presumed) extra effort on more plays will lead to big plays.

“Forecheck hard, take care of the middle of the ice, win both net-fronts,” captain Brayden Schenn said. “The little details or simple habits of hockey game that are going to give you the end result that you want. ... We have to play a little bit more aggressive at times throughout the game that are going to let us have the puck more.”

2. Coach Jim Montgomery will make the necessary line changes to activate the offense. For all the firepower that was a Jordan Kyrou-Robert Thomas-Pavel Buchnevich line, it just didn’t ignite the other night. At practice Monday, Montgomery put the hard-nosed Jake Neighbours on the Thomas-Buchnevich line. Kyrou returned to the Brayden Schenn line, along with Jimmy Snuggerud (who really has just played some standout hockey in his short stint).

“The success we’ve had (since the break) is pretty obvious — since Thomas and Buchnevich’s game has gone skyward, our success has gone skyward,” Montgomery said Monday. “So it’s really important. But for me, tomorrow, everybody relishing their role is important.”

3. Philip Broberg is back. The breakout defenseman of this season missed the last game but was on the ice Monday. The Blues are 38-23-6 with him this season. He’s a plus-21 for the year. And he gives Montgomery a reliable D-man late in games (Justin Faulk has been unreliable of late and minus-5 in the past five games).

4. Montgomery and his staff have identified the issues from recent games.

Finally back in the friendly confines of the home practice facility, the Blues went to work Monday, refreshed after a day off.

“Our puck pressure needs to be better than it’s been,” Montgomery shared. “We’ve been playing safe. We haven’t been playing in the last, really five games — not three games, because results don’t drive how we evaluate our teams. The last couple of wins we had, we could see it. It’s the puck pressure, (needing to be) more relentless, like our first and third goals of last game (at Seattle). That’s Blues hockey, and we got to get to that more consistently for 60 minutes.”

5. It’s a home game.

So, the Blues have been here before (well, sort of).

It was 2018. On March 16, the Blues were five games out of a playoff spot.

But they went 7-3-1 to set up a “Making the Playoffs Super Bowl.”

But this final game of the year was at Colorado. The winner would make the playoffs, the loser would miss the playoffs. And the Avs scored late in the first and early in the second to control the game that they won 5-2.

Well, Game 82 for the 2024-25 Blues is in ��ѿ��ý. The Blues are 23-14-3 at Enterprise Center. Since the break, they have won every home game but one — and that was a shootout loss.

“It’s always better in front of your fans,” Schenn said. “And just how good they’ve been with us, all the way through the stretch right here. So, exciting times. Obviously, this is what we play for. This is the chances like this and opportunities like this are what make the game exciting. And (an opportunity to) go out there and play hard for one another, play hard for in front of our fans. I think we’re all looking forward to the opportunity.”

The Blues will win Tuesday. Playoffs in either Vegas or Winnipeg (which, of course, is known as Canada’s Vegas).

Benjamin-hochman

Hochman: The significance of the Cardinals’ Sunday win and Nolan Arenado’s swings

Benjamin Hochman | Post-Dispatch

Benjamin-hochman

Hochman: Bryce Harper on childhood friend Erick Fedde of Cardinals: ‘Just really excited for him.’

Benjamin Hochman | Post-Dispatch

Benjamin-hochman

Hochman: Like 2019 Blues, after 50-plus years Western Michigan could win 1st title (and in STL)

Benjamin Hochman | Post-Dispatch

How Colton Parayko helped the Blues edge closer to the playoff bracket

Blues take on Los Angeles Kings — Blues defenseman Colton Parayko passes the puck in a game against the Kings on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Seeger Gray, Post-Dispatch

Earlier this week, the Blues nominated cornerstone defenseman Colton Parayko for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his humanitarian efforts in the community.

On Saturday night, the franchise celebrated his big contributions on the ice in Seattle. He returned after missing 17 games because of a knee injury to help his team edge closer to the playoff bracket.

“He looked really good,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “It looks like he is ready to go full tilt again.”

Parayko scored a goal during the frantic third period to help the Blues earn a key point in their 4-3 shootout loss to the Kraken.

“You can see his presence out there,” Blues defenseman Nick Leddy said. “What a huge goal for us. Played big minutes. He was on that (4 Nations Face-Off) Canadian team for a reason. He’s a very special player and a very special individual as well.”

That point kept the Blues in control of their playoff fate. They have 94 points with one game left, at home Tuesday against the Utah Hockey Club.

The Calgary Flames began Sunday with 90 points and three games left, beginning Sunday night at home against San Jose. The Blues hold the tiebreaker edge over the Flames — so even if Calgary goes 3-0, the Blues could clinch a wild-card playoff berth with a regulation victory over Utah.

“We’re still in good shape,” Montgomery said. “We control our own destiny. After 4 Nations, if anyone said we could win the last game of the year (and) we could make the playoffs, we’d all take it.”

Parayko’s return was especially important because fellow defenseman Philip Broberg missed the game. He returned to ��ѿ��ý early to deal with a personal matter.

Earlier Saturday, Montgomery told reporters that Matt Kessel was likely to replace Broberg in the lineup. But Parayko, who had been practicing with the team at full speed during this three-game trip, got the green light to play.

“I felt good,” Parayko said. “I’ve been kind of building the last week. It’s been a difficult process. The last week has been good, where you turn the corner, each practice got better and better. This morning, I felt pretty good, so I was ready to go.”

He played a team-high 23:21. Parayko teamed with Cam Fowler on the top pairing and shouldered extra responsibly after Fowler was hit in the face with the puck in the third period.

For a stretch of that period, the Blues were down to five defensemen while Fowler was getting repairs. Parayko finished with 31 shifts and finished with a plus-1 rating.

He scored his 16th goal of the season by jumping into the play as he has all season at even strength.

“I just noticed that they had some guys that were trapped below our goal line,” Parayko said. “I just tried to jump up in the play and make it an odd-man rush.”

He drove the center lane and worked a give-and-go play with Robert Thomas to beat Kraken goaltender Philip Grubauer with a forehand-backhand move.

The Blues’ offensive ability on the blue line proved critical in this game. Leddy helped create the team’s first goal by firing a shot toward the net.

Nathan Walker redirected the puck, then Radek Faksa swatted in the carom to tie the game 1-1.

After Parayko tied the game 2-2, Leddy put the Blues up 3-2. He took pass from Zack Bolduc out high and hammered a slap shot past Grubauer from straight away.

“We got our swagger back in the third period,” Leddy said. “That’s how we were playing during that winning streak. We can see how effective that is.”

The Blues failed to hold that lead, then they failed to earn the second point during the overtime and the shootout.

But their goal of reaching the playoffs with their late-season push still is within reach.

“The group has done a great job over the last month and a bit, since the break,” Parayko said. “They’ve been playing extremely well, putting wins together, putting points in the bank.

“Win and we’re in, so it’s in our court. Regroup, get a couple days here, go home, regroup and put our best foot forward and give ourselves a good chance of getting in the playoffs.”

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Canucks' failure cleared playoff path for late Blues charge

Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

��ѿ��ý Blues

How Connor McDavid slowed the Blues’ playoff push after returning from injury

Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Greg Millen was a fierce competitor, elite analyst, memorable character

Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

Blues move closer to playoff berth clinch with 4-3 shootout loss

The Blues edged closer to the playoff bracket by gaining a loser point Saturday night.

They suffered a 4-3 shootout loss to the Kraken Saturday night in Seattle, extending their winless streak to three games. But that point allowed them to keep control of their playoff fate.

The Blues (43-30-8) have 94 points just one game left, at home Tuesday night against the Utah Hockey Club. They could go into that game with their spot secured, should the Calgary Flames lose to San Jose Sunday.

If the Flames win again, the Blues could clinch their berth with a regulation win.

By going 3-0-2 in their last five games, the Flames stayed alive in the Western Conference wild card chase. The Flames (38-27-15) have 90 points, with three games to play: at home against the Sharks Sunday and the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday, then at the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

The Blues have the tiebreaker edge over Calgary.

The Minnesota Wild (44-30-7) have 95 points after defeating the Canucks 3-2 Saturday night in Vancouver. They have one game left, at home to the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday night.

The Wild would have the tiebreaker edge on the Blues.

Parayko returns, Broberg misses game

Defenseman Philip Broberg returned to ��ѿ��ý to address a personal issue, so Colton Parayko’s return from his knee injury was timely. Parayko had been sidelined since March 5, missing 17 games.

Parayko jumped back onto the top pairing with Cam Fowler. Nick Leddy and Justin Faulk started as the second pairing and Ryan Suter remained with Tyler Tucker.

Also, coach Jim Montgomery plugged third-line winger Mathieu Joseph back into the lineup in place of rookie Dalibor Dvorsky. Montgomery opened with Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou flanking Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn centering Jake Neighbours and Jimmy Snuggerud.

That alignment generated just three shots during the scoreless first period. The most notable Blues opportunity came when Kyrou made a slick spin move to get to the front of the net.

But Seattle got the best chances in the first 20 minutes, with Brandon Montour and Shane Wright testing Jordan Binnington during a power play.

Blues perk up, but Kraken take lead

The Blues outshot Seattle 9-5 in the second period, but they fell behind 1-0.

Former Blues winger Jaden Schwartz converted a 2-on-1 break to put the Kraken up 1-0 3:44 into the second period. Leddy, the lone defenseman, dove along the ice to take away Schwartz cross-ice passing lane.

But the puck caromed right back to Schwartz, who scored into the open right side of the net.

The Blues were especially dangerous on the power play late in the period, but Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer made two stops on Bolduc -- one on a shot from the high slot, one on a point-blank shot in front of the net.

Parayko makes big impact

Just 66 seconds in the third period, the Blues' fourth line tied the game 1-1. Leddy shot the puck, Nathan Walker redirected it and Radek Faksa converted the carom at the right post.

Montgomery flipped Neighbours and Buchnevich on the top two lines, looking to generate more offense. Also, Fowler missed time after getting hit in the face by the puck, forcing Montgomery to shuffle pairings.

And the game opened up with rapid-fire goals.

Seattle moved ahead 2-1 when Tye Kartye fired a shot from the right wing and Michael Eyssimont converted the long rebound to the left wing.

Parayko tied the game 2-2 by coming down the middle and working a give-and-go play with Thomas off the rush.

Leddy put the Blues up 3-2 with a slap shot from straight away, set up bu Bolduc, but Shane Wright tied the game 3-3 by driving the net and redirecting Jamie Oleksiak's pass into the net with his skate.

That sent the game into over, then the shootout.

��ѿ��ý Blues

What are the reasons for Blues' post-break turnaround that has them on brink of playoffs?

Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: There's no forgetting Frozen Four glory for Blues' Jim Montgomery, Matthew Kessel

Lynn Worthy | Post-Dispatch

��ѿ��ý Blues

How Connor McDavid slowed the Blues’ playoff push after returning from injury

Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

��ѿ��ý

Take advantage of these
exclusive benefits: