ST. LOUIS — In February, The Athletic debuted the first edition of the St. Louis Blues power rankings.
If you missed the story, it’s a vibe check of the organization: players, prospects, trades, and let’s not leave out items from the concession stand.
So, literally anything, and we rank them in order of importance, Nos. 1 to 10.
1. The stare
On March 15, the Blues were coming off a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and getting ready to play the Minnesota Wild. Before the game, Alexey Toropchenko decided to stare through the lens of a TV camera inside the locker room.
“No smile, no anything,” Toropchenko said. “All the boys just loved it, and they were laughing. We won the game, and after that, all the boys, when the TV camera is in the room, they say, ‘Do it! Do it!’ It brings a little bit of energy and laughter to the room.”
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The Blues won 5-1 in Minnesota and haven’t lost since, so if there’s a camera around, you can bet the Blues will be staring it down.
“The main point is don’t smile,” Toropchenko said. “Stay focused and serious, even if all the boys are laughing around you. You just have to dig in.”
Everybody’s doing it! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/e5Q5X23z8Z
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 27, 2025
The Blues like that it began organically.
“Yeah, that’s the best thing,” Toropchenko said. “It’s the same thing with true love. It will find you, you know?”
When the Blues walked up the stairs to the team plane before a recent road trip, Toropchenko spotted a camera, and even while tripping over a couple of steps, he remained locked in.
when you’re so committed to the bit you don’t notice the step. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/cNwYGUuPGS
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 26, 2025
Before the Blues’ recent game in Colorado, it was Pavel Buchnevich’s turn, and he didn’t disappoint.
“I was sitting there and everybody was yelling, ‘You’ve got to do it!’” Buchnevich said.
Buch is back and he knows what to do. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/TMIQ3CyRQa
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 29, 2025
Who’s the best?
“(Justin Faulk) is impressive,” Buchnevich said.
Blues coach Jim Montgomery was asked if he’s seen any video clips on social media. He has.
“I personally like it,” Montgomery said. “It shows their personality, and it also shows the fun that they have amongst themselves. I think it’s caught fire. (Dylan) Holloway is not very good at it.”
Toropchenko agreed with Montgomery about Holloway.
“Holly, he had a couple of times, and he almost smiled,” Toropchenko said. “But it’s OK. He will get there.”
2. The 10-game winning streak
When Cam Fowler played in Anaheim last season, the lowly Ducks had a stretch in which they went 1-13, and the one victory was a shootout win.
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So the veteran defenseman knows as much as anyone on the Blues how hard it is to win 10 straight games, which the team did Tuesday with a 2-1 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings on Fowler’s game-winner.
“It’s been a fun ride here,” Fowler said. “There’s not many opportunities you have in this league to keep a streak like this going. We’ve kept faith for a long time now, knowing that we can win hockey games no matter how much time is left. It’s fun to be able to keep this thing rolling.”
It’s only the third time in Blues’ history they have won 10 in a row, and with a win over Pittsburgh on Thursday, they’d match the franchise record of 11 (Jan. 23-Feb. 19, 2019). It would also match the Winnipeg Jets for the longest streak in the NHL this season.
3. Jobu
When the Blues returned from the 4 Nations Face-Off, they noticed someone new in the locker room. It was Jobu, the voodoo doll from the 1989 movie “Major League,” whom outfielder Pedro Cerrano worshiped as a way to bring him good luck.
It’s a mystery who brought Jobu into the locker room. If the players know, they’re not saying.
“Yeah, when we got back from the break, he showed up,” Blues forward Zack Bolduc said. “I’m not even sure who brought it. But since he’s been here, we’ve been rolling pretty good.”
Jobu has his own stall and nameplate next to Bolduc at Enterprise Center.
“It’s basically our corner, and no one can sit there,” Bolduc said.
Jobu, from the movie “Major League,” has a locker stall inside the Blues locker room next to Zack Bolduc. (Jeremy Rutherford / The Athletic)
Jobu travels with the Blues on the road, too, and receives the same type of treatment.
“Even in Nashville, I got the lower seat and he got the full seat,” Buchnevich said. “It’s like OK, you’ve got to respect him.”
In Colorado, the Blues and Avalanche were tied 1-1 at the second intermission, and Buchnevich scored in the third period for a 2-1 victory. Goalie Jordan Binnington credited Jobu for his speech during the intermission, but Binnington was a bit cryptic when asked what Jobu said.
“You’ve got to understand his language if you want to know what he says,” Binnington said.
Bolduc wouldn’t provide any details either.
“Sometimes Jobu is giving us a good speech, but like ‘Binner’ said, you’ve got to know what kind of language he’s speaking,” Bolduc said.
Montgomery said that “Major League” is one of his favorite sports movies.
“I wish we could get Charlie Sheen (who was in the movie) to do an ad for us,” Montgomery said. “That would be great!”
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4. The hit
Since joining the Blues in 2018, Jordan Kyrou has been credited with 112 hits in his career. He’s never received as much credit as he did for the open-ice hit he delivered against Detroit on Tuesday.
In overtime, Kyrou was in the defensive zone when he tried to make a pass to Holloway in the neutral zone. The puck bounced off Holloway’s skate and was scooped up by the Red Wings’ Alex DeBrincat.
Sure, DeBrincat is undersized at 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds. Still, the 6-1, 196-pound Kyrou leveled him.
Has Kyrou ever laid a hit like that in his career?
“Maybe a couple times in junior, not the NHL,” he said. “I think I was just kind of juiced at the end of my shift there. I don’t think I would have been able to catch him, so I kind of just tried to catch him off-guard.”
5. 2019 Stanley Cup similarities
In 2018-19, the Blues fired their coach. This season, they fired their coach.
In 2018-19, a strong second-half surge got the Blues into the playoffs. This season, a second-half surge may get them into the playoffs.
In 2018-19, the Blues had an 11-game winning streak. On Thursday, a victory will give them another 11-game winning streak.
Those similarities have fans feeling like it’s five years ago.
How about the players?
“There’s five of us left from that ’19 team, so for me to say it’s 2019 all over again, I don’t think that,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “The feeling of playing hard for one another, winning hockey games, winning hockey games different ways, playing tight defensively, you can maybe say that some things like that are like 2019. But as far as the room, it’s just completely different guys.”
Current Blues who were on 2019 Cup team
6. Surprising stats without Parayko
After having his knee scoped last month, Blues defenseman Colton Parayko missed his 13th game Tuesday. If fans had been told the team would go 11-1-1 in those 13 games, few would have believed it.
Some specific defensive statistics are even more impressive than the overall record.
Since Parayko left the lineup on March 7, the Blues’ five-on-five goals against per 60 minutes is 1.47, which, according to Natural Stat Trick, is the second-fewest in the NHL in the span behind the L.A. Kings (1.22).
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Furthermore, during the Blues’ 10-game winning streak, they have allowed just one goal in seven of the 10 games. The other games were two, two and three goals against.
The original announcement about Parayko’s injury on March 7 was that he’d be re-evaluated in six weeks, which would’ve kept him out until the end of the regular season. He has been skating with the team and could be back sooner than that, but the Blues will be cautious when deciding to bring him back.
7. The Fowler trade
A large part of the reason the Blues have been good defensively without Parayko has been Fowler.
In the 12 games Fowler played without Parayko, he has one goal — Tuesday’s OT winner — and eight points. At five-on-five, he’s been on the ice for 14 goals for and seven against. Nick Leddy deserves credit, too, as the pair has played 162 minutes together at five-on-five and been on the ice for 12 goals for and six against.
There have been bigger names traded this season, but has there been a more impactful deal than the Blues acquiring Fowler and a fourth-round draft pick in 2027 from Anaheim for a 2027 second-round pick and a prospect?
In 45 games with the Blues this season, Fowler has nine goals and 30 points offensively, and he’s been on the ice for 48 five-on-five goals for and 29 goals against.
You didn’t doubt it, did you? #stlblues pic.twitter.com/w421teCe0P
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 2, 2025
8. “Puck Cancer”
Kelly Chase’s second annual “Puck Cancer” event will be held Friday night at Centene Community Ice Center.
There will be a hockey game featuring the Blues’ alumni vs. the Chicago Blackhawks’ alumni at 7 p.m. The Blues’ roster features Montgomery, Barret Jackman, Andy McDonald, Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk, Chris Butler, Paul Stastny, Cam Janssen and others. The coaches include NFL Hall of Famer John Elway, Brett Hull, Tony Twist and Joel Quenneville.
Chase, who is battling leukemia, started Puck Cancer in 2024 as a way to raise money for Siteman Cancer and The V Foundation. The event raised more than $400,000 in its first year.
Puck Cancer rosters are HERE ‼️
Check out these stacked rosters & legendary coaches. Join us in supporting @SitemanCenter and @TheVFoundation on April 4th 👊There’s still time to grab your tickets – https://t.co/ENniGON4GU 🎟️ pic.twitter.com/HPuhWPXAOS
— Blues Alumni (@bluesalumni) March 20, 2025
9. PA Guy Tom
If you’re not following Blues public-address announcer Tom Calhoun on X, give him a follow @paguytom.
Calhoun, who The Athletic wrote about in 2022, hasn’t missed a home game in nearly four decades. On social media, he gives a behind-the-scenes look from his booth at Enterprise Center, and did so recently when he posted the videos of both Jimmy Snuggerud’s and Dalibor Dvorsky’s rookie laps.
Calhoun also has a new podcast called “Blues Hockey Legends,” and has interviewed everyone from Chase to Keith Tkachuk and his latest with Mike Liut. Click here for the episode with Liut and others.
Time for Jimmy’s rookie lap. Welcome aboard young Snuggerud! #stlblues #nhl #blueshockeylegends pic.twitter.com/W6Y6N2y7dw
— Tom Calhoun (@paguytom) April 1, 2025
10. Brisket Mac
Trust me! Brisket with creamy mac-and-cheese, Red Hot Riplets, smoked BBQ and green onions. FarmTruk outside Section 306 at Enterprise Center. Cost: $15.00
Brisket Mac from FarmTruk. (Courtesy of FarmTruk)
(Photo: Jeff Le / Imagn Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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