COLUMN: Blues still surviving in playoff push

After defeating the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 at home on Wednesday, March 13, the St. Louis Blues now sit six points behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Six points may seem like a lot, but it’s the equivalent of the St. Louis Cardinals being three games back in the wild-card hunt.

Around this time last year, the Blues traded some of their cornerstone pieces and were just waiting for the season to be over. Now they spend every game playing for the final spot in the playoffs.

“The best part of hockey is playing meaningful games,” Blues forward Kevin Hayes said. “Every game is a do-or-die moment.”

The common adage of playoff hockey is if you have a great goalie, you have a chance. The same goes for a team that’s trying to bust through the back door of the playoffs.

Jordan Binnington, who has been the rock of the Blues defense ever since he delivered the Stanley Cup to St. Louis as a rookie, made 40 saves against the relentless royal attack by the sterling silver-domed Kings. The only shot that went through for a goal came off the stick of Adrian Kempe in the third period.

Binnington has improved his goal-against average from 3.31 last year to 2.86, his lowest since 2020-21 and his .911 save percentage is his highest since 2019-20 (.912).

“He’s been amazing all year,” Hayes said of Binnington. “He’s been our best player all year. We were struggling to score goals for him but he kept us in every game. He pretty much keeps us in every game.”

The one thing that seems the most perplexing about the Blues (34-29-3), given the spot they’re in this year, is despite winning only two more games than they lost (including the three in overtime) is how they can come out on top against any team in the league. Despite being 15-18-2 on the road, the Blues have demonstrated that on a given day, they can go to the home of a President’s Trophy contender such as Florida and Boston and win by a wide margin.

“I think we’ve done a good job as a group playing the right way and playing tight in our own zone,” Binnington said. “It’s been a lot better and it’s fun to play back there.”

A big part of the Blues improving their fortunes between the previous year and now are improvements from their young players. Alexey Toropchenko scored a career-high 13th goal of the season in the first period to give the Blues a 1-0 lead. He scored 10 goals in 69 games last year during his first full season in the NHL. Jake Neighbours continues to add to his career-high season total with his 21st goal coming in the second period.

Even veteran Brendan Saad is seeing better days as he scored his 20th goal of the season in the third period to put the Blues up 3-1. It’s the seventh 20-goal season of his career and his second during his three-year stint in St. Louis.

“It seems like the guys are having more fun and having each other’s backs out there and find ways to create offense off the rush,” Binnington said. “I think that makes it more enjoyable as a player and just the energy you build from there.”

The Blues will get a couple of days of rest before defending home ice against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. The Blues will then close out the potentially pivotal homestand against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, March 19.