Effort level 'wasn’t even close' to enough for Blues during 8-1 loss to Senators

OTTAWA, Ontario Apparently nothing could stop the inevitability of Tuesday nights 8-1 Blues loss to the Senators.

Not a pregame delay following a power outage at Canadian Tire Centre.

Not an early timeout by Drew Bannister with a prayer of stopping the Ottawa momentum.

Not a second-period goaltending change by St.

Louis.

And certainly not the giveaways nor the minimal effort level submitted by the Blues.

The end result was the worst Blues loss in nearly four years, and just the fifth loss in the last 30 years of at least seven goals.

The last time St.

Louis lost by at least seven goals was Jan.

15, 2021, when it lost 8-0 in Colorado.

Our effort, you can name it, wasnt even close to what you need to have at this level, Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said.

Youve just got to take it head-on, know what happened and youve got to move on.

Thats the way it goes.

Weve got to get ready for the next game and just understand what happened tonight and why and just keep going.

We all know its not acceptable and it cant happen.

The Blues fell behind 3-0 after the first period, thanks to a trio of Ottawa goals that were delivered by St.

Louis giveaways in the offensive zone.

They were behind 6-0 after two periods courtesy of two power-play goals scored by St.

Louis native Brady Tkachuk.

Three different Senators Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Adam Gaudette were on hat trick watch by the end of the game having already scored two goals.

Dylan Holloways third-period, power-play goal sullied Linus Ullmarks shutout bid on Tuesday night, but did nothing to change the direction or tenor of the outcome.

Joel Hofer allowed five goals before he was lifted in the second period.

Ottawa pinned three more on Jordan Binnington.

Overall, as a group, as a whole, coaches included, that wasnt a good enough effort, Bannister said.

Internally, were going to have to figure out what the issues are.

Well talk about that and move forward.

We have an opportunity to go on the road here in Philly and still come off the road .500.

Weve got to figure out right now what our issues are and well move forward.

Tuesdays performance comes three days after another stinker Saturday, when the Blues lost 5-2 in Montreal.

The two losses outscored 13-3 dropped the Blues back to .500 with a 5-5-0 record going into Philadelphia to finish the four-game road trip.

Soft in the battles and soft all over the ice, Blues captain Brayden Schenn said.

Competitive level wasnt there.

Turned over pucks, and before you know it, thats the score.

Thats two games in a row now where thats 13 goals by not playing the right way.

Weve got to fix that internally and fast, and finish this road trip the right way.

Why was the competitiveness lacking? Schenn: Theres no answer for that.

Its there or its not.

It wasnt there tonight.

Faulk: I dont have much of a reason, to be honest with you.

Theres never an excuse or anything for it, so I dont have that.

The Blues figured to handle the heavy-lifting earlier on this trip when they dispatched of the Maple Leafs, 5-1, last week.

Eastern Conference non-playoff teams Montreal, Ottawa and Philadelphia remained on the docket, but the Blues instead will try to salvage a road trip that once looked promising.

Were definitely a very inconsistent bunch, Schenn said.

The way we play together and play the right way in Toronto and then follow it up with two poor games back to back, this leagues tight and its competitive.

Youve got to come out with an honest effort each and every night and give yourself a chance to win.

So far through these past couple games, it just hasnt been great.

Without Robert Thomas due to a fractured ankle that could sideline him until the first week of December, the Blues cannot afford performances devoid of effort.

They Blues entered the season as a playoff bubble team with Thomas available, and did not resemble anything of the sort during Tuesdays blowout.

Against the Senators, the damage was mostly self-inflicted.

Pavel Buchnevich, Brandon Saad and Jake Neighbours all mishandled pucks that resulted in Senators rush goals.

Holloways tripping penalty and Matthew Kessels cross-checking penalty both transformed into Tkachuk power-play goals.

Hofer and Binnington didnt bail out the Blues when put in poor positions.

Nothing against what they did, Faulk said, but we made their night pretty easy.

Tuesday was the seventh time this season that the Blues faced a multi-goal deficit.

Three times they were able to tie the game.

Only twice did they win those games.

St.

Louis has now trailed 31:11 per game this season, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Thats more than half of each game, on average, and its the second-highest mark in the NHL.

Last place San Jose is the only team that has trailed more often than the Blues have this season.

We know we cant play like that, Schenn said.

We know we have to play together as a team.

Thats not the effort we need tonight, obviously.

Its my job to drive the bus in the right direction.

Thats not from a scoresheet perspective, but playing the right way and I got to start leading the team in the right direction.

It used to be automatic that the Blues would respond well after bad losses.

From 2018-22 (four playoff years), the Blues were 6-1-1 in games after losing by at least five goals.

In the last two seasons, when St.

Louis missed the playoffs, it was 2-4-1 in such games.

As a group, we have to be more committed, certainly coming off a game we played in Montreal and thats us as a whole, the coaching staff are part of that, Bannister said.

Its not just the players on the ice.

Its the coaching staff and the players.

We have to be more committed to playing winning hockey and doing the little things in the game that give you opportunities to win..

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