Needless to say, tonight's game was ... well, let's be kind - not the result we were hoping for. At 2-2 with about 4 minutes to play, getting to OT and just getting a point would have been OK. Predictably, though, the Kings stepped up and put a(nother) dagger into the Blues with a late goal (and then an empty-netter to seal the deal).

Talking about whether X goal was weak or not, or who made mistakes on that play, or who didn't show up tonight (it's not a short list) or who didn't play well (also not a short list) misses the bigger picture. This team is backing itself into a corner quickly, and the pressure is only going to ramp up between now and the end of the season the longer they hang around the 8-spot in the West. It's a position we shouldn't be in at all, and it's one you wonder if they know how to get themselves out of.

At least going into tonight, you could say "hey, at least we outshot the opposition, all we need is to get a few of those chances to convert." Then, there was tonight with the Kings outshooting the Blues 40-22 ... and that's just shots that actually made it to the net. Throw in shots that were blocked or just missed the net, and it was 74-42 against - and that's not even touching that of those 40 shots on goal from the Kings, 25 of them game from within 35 feet of the net and 16 of them came from within 25 feet; the Blues had 9 and 6 respectively. Sure, the Kings 2nd goal wasn't great (I don't think of it as weak, it was more unlucky just how the whole thing went off), but Halak made some pretty solid saves on the night; if we got the "usual" goaltending out of him, this would have been 4-1 or 5-1 at the 2nd intermission. You simply cannot continue to allow the opposition to fire away in high-quality areas repeatedly and expect good things to happen.

(Note: I don't think the 3rd goal should have counted - but this isn't the first time I think Toronto blew a call ... and they've definitely blown a few over time.)

If there was any belief still out there that maybe this team could get it together and contend for a Cup this season, the Kings did a fine job of showing how high the bar is going to be set to come play - and the Blues showed they're miles away from that point. Trading for the playoffs this season? Please ... this team has a lot of stuff to fix internally first; there's no sense wasting resources on a playoff run this year. Tonight was playoff hockey, and the Blues at times looked every bit like the 2009 team that was quickly swept out by Vancouver.

Trade ideas? Go ahead, list 'em off. Deal off someone from the core? Maybe, but I'm not sure what that's going to solve right now. Blow it up? Sure, I'll bet Blues fans would love to do the rebuilding thing again seeing as how they were already fed up with it before we ever even hit the '08-09 season. Change coaches? The only time this group has reacted positively is after a coaching change - and that lasts about a year or so (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less); if that's the only way these guys can get motivated, then "blow it up" starts to get some legs. The bottom line is that the guys in the locker room have to look at each other and say, "this is it - don't expect we're getting any help, it's up to us to sink or swim, so we better figure out how to fix this."

At this point, the Blues are sitting in 8th in the West - but they've got a little breathing room because they're clear of everyone under them after adjusting for games played. However, they're quickly losing pace with everyone above them. San Jose is even with a game in hand, Detroit is +3, and Los Angeles is +4 (and is almost guaranteed to have the 1st tiebreak - and absolutely has the 2nd if it gets that far). Besides, we've seen Blues teams fritter away "games in hand" and fail to pick up points way too many times to count; I don't even want to rely on that, and neither should the team.

Monday night at Minnesota is the final game for the Blues before the trade deadline. Expect Jake Allen to get the start in net - and while it's easy to say this because he's only played in 11 NHL games so far, Monday night is easily going to be the biggest start of his NHL career. Depending on what Armstrong was thinking going into tonight's game, he may be starting against the Wild with at least one new teammate.

***

Days to the trade deadline: 6

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