Blues-Canucks three keys

Well, that went about as well as a train wreck.

The St. Louis Blues were once again left with the task of trying to build off of one win, a 3-0 shutout of the Calgary Flames on Thursday in Alberta.

Somehow, they left the good vibes behind and didn't pack them onto the charter plane to British Columbia that resulted in the worst loss of the season, 5-0 against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.

Let's dive into the three keys to the loss on Friday:

1. Inconsistency issues loom large -- This marks seven straight games the Blues have alternated wins and losses; they haven't lost more than one game haven't won more than one straight.

The Blues played as close to an 'A' game as possible in Calgary 24 hours earlier but absolutely laid an egg on Friday.

It's something they're going to have to quickly figure out, why they're winning one, losing one, winning one. And in their losses, the Blues have been outscored 17-5. 

It's hard to get a pulse on a team when it plays a B+/A game one night, then plays a D/F game the next.

2. Canucks smelled blood in water -- Vancouver hadn't played since Tuesday, the Blues were coming in hot from a game 24 hours earlier, and the Canucks were determined to skate, possess the puck and make the Blues chase the game.

They out-attempted the Blues 35-4 in the opening 20 minutes and outshot them 19-3. Had it not been for Jordan Binnington and some of the key saves he made in the first period, the 1-0 score could have been a lot worse.

3. Undiscipline -- The Canucks came into the game third in the league with a 35.3 percent power-play efficiency, and the Blues were 18th on the penalty kill. On paper, something had to give.

Well, it did, but not in the way one would figure.

Vancouver went 0-for-4 with the man-advantage and the Blues PK bent but didn't break but the Canucks had six shots and used the power play to drive offensive zone time on ensuing puck possessions during 5-on-5 situations, and they had the Blues pinned to their ears chasing the puck and playing undisciplined early on.

The Vancouver power play didn't directly lead to any goals, but it did lead to momentum.