ST. LOUIS -- The Blues wrapped up their home schedule in the sort of fashion that has typified their season as a whole, one that lacked the proper execution and necessary play to signify success.
Their penalty kill, which has been abysmal of late, was allowed three more power-play markers in a 5-2 loss against the playoff-bound and possibly Central Division champion Dallas Stars at Enterprise Center on Wednesday.
The Blues (37-37-7), who close out the regular season with a rematch in Dallas Thursday at 7 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN 101.1-FM) after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18, have by far the worst PK since March 26 at 45.2 percent. They've killed just 14 of 31 attempts, which is unheard of, and sure, they are missing and have been missing some key personnel in that department, but considering the fact that the next worst PK is the Montreal Canadiens at 63 percent in that same time span, this is just flat-out bad.
And the Blues, who 30th in the NHL on the season at 72.1 percent, are going to go down with one of their worst seasonal PK percentages in their history.
They were 2-for-5 on Wednesday, and the problem is something that's been an ongoing issue.
"They had too much time with the puck, that's the bottom line. Not enough pressure," Blues coach Craig Berube said of the Stars.
Pretty much in a nutshell, playing too slow and laying too far off, not pressuring the puck and giving too much space and time.
"Good plays by them, but definitely we've got to tighten up, just be more aggressive, close plays out quicker, just work together as a four-man unit," defenseman Colton Parayko said.
It was an entertaining 2-2 game after one period on goals by Jakub Vrana (power play) and Robert Thomas, but the Stars (46-21-14) took advantage of three power-play opportunities, cashed in on all three, including a double-minor by Sammy Blais for high sticking.
"We took some unnecessary penalties in the second period that cost us," Berube said. "They entered our zone too easily on their breakouts.
"... They won a lot of draws in our zone. Personally I didn't think we fought enough to get out there. Put pressure on them and kill the play. We let ourselves get picked too easily, and then it causes issues."
he penalty kill went through a stretch there where it was solid after starting off the season poor, but here is the breakdown since the game against the Los Angeles Kings on March 26:
* 1-for-5 in a 7-6 loss against L.A.
* 1-for-3 in 6-5 overtime win against Vancouver
* 1-for-3 in 5-3 win at Chicago
* 2-for-4 in 6-1 loss at Nashville
* 1-for-2 in 4-3 shootout loss against Boston
* 3-for-3 in 4-2 win against Philadelphia, the worst power-play in the league
* 0-for-2 in 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers
* 3-for-4 in 5-3 loss at Minnesota
* 2-for-5 in 5-2 loss against Dallas
"It’s been a struggle for us all year," said center Robert Thomas, who had a goal and an assist. "It’s something that we need to keep on working at and get better because it’s a huge part of the game and something we’ve been good for a long time at. It’s something we need to get back to and find a way to kill off some penalties.
"Hard to win when you give up three power play goals. They did a good job on the power play.
"Yeah, it’s been an issue. There’s no other way to put it. There’s no kind of right answer right now. We’re trying stuff, and it’s not working. So we've just got to keep on trying stuff until it starts working."
It's just one of a myriad of issues that have faced the Blues this season, and they only have one game left in this forgettable campaign.
"I think it’s something we need to figure out, whether it’s stick details or changing something up," Thomas said. "But it’s obviously a huge part of the game and something we need to get back to."
The Blues will have an entire season to fix a multitude of things, including keeping the puck out of their net. They've not allowed 300 goals on the season for the first time in quite some time.
Which makes one wonder what the motivation can be now with one game remaining and even in the games leading up to the season finale, has there been enough motivation?
"I think we're all still playing," Parayko said. "To throw on the Bluenote, every time you put that on, it's something that you can't take for granted. It's special to be in this league. Obviously had a new kid come into the NHL today, [Hugh] McGing, and it's just cool to see. Everybody's still working for each other. We've got to continue to build. You look there tonight, we've got a full building of fans. Like you said, we know our fate already, but that's pretty cool. But if we just go out there and play, I don't think it's fair to them and fair to ourselves or the organization. We're still trying obviously to win and we're going to keep pushing tomorrow for sure."