Blues come unraveled again, fall for sixth straight time, 5-2 against Islanders

ST. LOUIS -- It was precisely the start the Blues were looking for after the way things had gone this week.

On the heels of a five-game losing streak in which general manager Doug Armstrong was fair but firm in his assessment to the team but reaffirmed his confidence in the group to get going back in the right direction, they started the game against the red-hot New York Islanders accordingly.

But then the second period began, and the Blues slipped right back into bad habits, the Islanders pounded with a four-goal period and sent the reeling Blues to their sixth straight loss, 5-2, at Enterprise Center on Thursday.

The Blues (3-6-0), who have been outscored 30-10 in losing six straight in regulation for the first time since the final six games of the 2013-14 season (April 5-13, 2021), were ahead 1-0 on a Vladimir Tarasenko goal at 8:17. They were working the puck in the offensive zone, they were checking, retrieving pucks, cycling, putting the next line in position to go in and work, and had it not been for a couple Ilya Sorokin saves by the Islanders goalie in the first period, it could have been a wider lead, perhaps 2-, or 3-0.

"Loved the first period," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "Especially the first 10 minutes, 12 minutes.

"I think the response is in the right way. I think that our team came out prepared and ready to go."

Leading by a goal against a team that had won four in a row, it unraveled quickly.

All of 14 seconds.

Kyle Palmieri tied it on a redirection in front. Sound familiar? It should. The Blues allowed three tap-ins Monday against Los Angeles, but this one developed with the Pavel Buchnevich-Ivan Barbashev-Tarasenko line on the ice and the Torey Krug-Justin Faulk pairing on the ice.

The Islanders won the faceoff and were able to get the puck up ice with a wide gap through the middle, gaining the Blues zone. But after Jordan Binnington made an initial save, Krug inexplicably threw the puck up along the wall that got picked off by Noah Dobson, who quickly threw the puck towards the goal where Palmieri was able to get inside position on Faulk, who to his defense was having to fend for two skaters (Jean-Gabriel Pageau), and tap it home.

It was as if the life had been zapped from the arena, and for what defenseman Robert Bortuzzo said was a "fragile team," it was.

"Come out in the second, it's a goal that there's no reason for it to happen," Berube said.

It left the Blues explaining why they couldn't sustain such a strong first.

"I'm not sure. They got the quick one early, that was a little bit deflating, but that's no excuse," Bortuzzo said. "I thought our team game was there in the first period and that's when we have most of our success. It's a group that's built on the sum of its parts, it always has been in this organization. It's just a little bit inconsistent in the team game in general. There's too many good teams. They'll jam it down your throat if you're away from that."

It started the unraveling fast ... again.

Four goals in 10:04, meaning the Blues have were outscored 11-3 in the second period of this three-game homestand.

Another turnover gave the Islanders the lead for good, this time by captain Ryan O'Reilly, and with right intentions but bad results. After the Blues killed off a 28-second 5-on-3 Islanders power play, Niko Mikkola had just stepped out of the box and was off to the races. With the puck on O'Reilly's stick, he tried to find the defenseman in stride. Instead, his pass was picked off by Noah Dobson at the blue line, the Islanders had a 2-on-0 at the net with Binnington and Brock Nelson was making it 2-1.

"It's the right play. If he executes it, we got a breakaway," Berube said. "(Colton) Parayko is jumping, too. He was gone. That was a great opportunity right there to capitalize on a play, but we ended up turning it over and it was in our net."

Sound familiar? See the pattern here?

And then ... drumroll ... another turnover. And another goal.

This time, it was Robert Thomas losing the puck near the Islanders' blue line when he lost handle of Binnington's long stretch pass, getting it poked away by Ryan Pulock before Oliver Wahlstrom was taking it back the other way on an odd-man rush, and Josh Bailey poking a loose puck off the stick of Nick Leddy for a 3-1 lead at 7:05.

"We had a great first period, we did exactly what we wanted, especially in the first 10 minutes, got a ton of chances and then just took the foot off the gas and it starts with myself," Thomas said. "I had a bad turnover and it's the third goal and that kills our momentum, so I’ve got to be a lot better."

"I gotta look at it again, how it came off the boards but again, it's a turnover," Berube said. "We're fighting it. We're fighting the puck."

And Anders Lee capped off New York's scoring at 10:18 when he jammed in a shot camped out uncontested in the slot when Nelson wrapped around the Blues net and fed the Islanders captain for a 4-1 lead.

The solid play by the floundering Blues eviscerated just like that.

"We're not doing a good enough job there. It's freebies," Berube said. "We're not boxing people out. We're watching. Back in the net. They make a play out front, we're not into the guy.

"It's mental mistakes more than anything in my opinion."

It's been nothing but mental mistakes since this meltdown began in Winnipeg Oct. 24.

"It's hard to pinpoint. I think we're a little bit fragile right now," Bortuzzo admitted. "The (first) goal was obviously deflating and then we give up a power play goal. We're scrambling to regroup.

"We're turning a lot of pucks over. I think that's been our Achillies' heel for a while now here. It's something that's been a staple of our group is good puck management and setting the guy up, setting the next guy up. It's just a little bit inconsistent."

The Blues had a goal taken off the board (Nick Leddy) by a goalie interference challenge and another ruled no goal (Jake Neighbours) when a puck was determined to have cross the line after the net came off its moorings, but that was a far from what had just happened in the second.

The come to Jesus moment with Armstrong was supposed to be the beginning of turning things around, but not so. It was back to more of the same things that have put the Blues here in the first place.

"You're hoping that's rock bottom, but the only way out is together, and that's our mentality," Bortuzzo said. "It's a group that no one's giving up on each other. I thought we pushed once things stabilized a bit in that second, I thought we pushed and pushed. A little bit of tough luck, a couple disallowed goals and what not. That's no excuse. When things are going tough, I think that's when you're supposed to lean on your teammates. I think we're having a little bit of a tough time doing that. Individually to a man, probably everyone wants a little bit more and expects more from each other and themselves. I think this will be a good time to start leaning on each other a little bit more."