Craig Berube doesn’t have much of a positive message for his team right now.
The St. Louis Blues have lost seven of their last nine games, and after their latest, a 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, their coach was done biting his tongue.
“If everybody doesn’t come to the rink ready to really compete and move your feet and do things right and be detailed and attentive, we’re not going to go anywhere,” Berube told reporters after the latest loss. “That’s the bottom line.
“As a coaching staff, we’re preparing them, we tell them what they need to do against this team, look for it, this is what you’ve got to do, but we can’t go out and play for them. They have to go out and play, as a team, and right now, we’re not doing it. We’re not doing it enough, we’re not consistent enough 100 percent. You lose in this league.”
There’s no one area where the Blues are failing — it’s several. Their penalty kill is flailing, having given up goals in six of their last nine chances, while the team given up at least four goals against in their last nine games, going 2-7. Making matters worse, they’ve been outscored handily in that span, 46-27.
“It’s everything,” center Robert Thomas said. “We gotta clear guys in front of our net. Forwards gotta stop turning the puck over and be better in the D-zone. Neutral zone we’re soft. But there’s so many things that we’ve continued to talk about all year. It’s the same thing.”
The Blues are now 12-15, sixth in the Central Division in the Western Conference, five points behind Calgary for the second wild card spot in the West.
Berube is searching for answers, having used almost everything in his arsenal for a fix. Nothing has worked.
“If they don’t come to the rink and think about the team and put the team first, we’re not going anywhere and right now, I don’t see that happening,” he said. “I think it’s just the attitude of the team right now. It’s creeped in here and it’s just not good right now.”
Fortunately for Berube, there is time to right the ship in St. Louis — something he’s seen firsthand. As an interim coach during the 2018-19 season, he pioneered a stunning turnaround, taking the Blues from last place to Stanley Cup champions.
