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St. Louis Blues’ dream, nightmare scenarios for 2025 NHL Playoffs

Originally posted on NHL on ClutchPoints
By Christopher Hennessy | Last updated Apr 11, 2025 9:05 AM ET

On March 3, the St. Louis Blues lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 in regulation. That was the last time they lost until April 7. The Blues went on a franchise record 12-game winning streak, all but securing their place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They needed every one of those wins and are coming into the playoffs as the hottest team in hockey. Can Jim Montgomery’s squad make another run through the Western Conference?

In 2019, the Blues fired Mike Yeo early in the season, hired Craig Berube, went on a franchise-record winning streak, and won the Stanley Cup. This year, Drew Bannister starred in the Mike Yeo role, Montgomery cosplayed as Berube, and St Louis is headed back to the dance. Recreating that magic again will be nearly impossible. But many of the core members are the same from that magical run.

The Blues’ dream scenario is recreating the 2019 run. That will not be possible unless Jordan Binnington plays like he did five years ago. The good news for them is he did exactly that as Team Canada’s goalie at the 4 Nations Face-Off. An entire nation was terrified of the goalie situation heading into the tournament, but he quelled all those fears with an incredible Championship Game performance against Team USA.

Often with the dream and nightmare scenarios, it is easy to look at the first-round matchups and hope a team can avoid a certain fate. But both of the Blues’ potential opponents will provide a difficult matchup. Either they will surpass the Wild and face the Vegas Golden Knights. Or they will drop to number eight and face the Winnipeg Jets. Either way, it will be tough.

If they play the Jets, Blues fans can point to that Championship game from February, when Binnington outdueled Conny Hellebucyk.

The Blues are playing with house money

St. Louis Blues center Jordan Kyrou (25) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at Enterprise Center. Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Bannister did not get a fair shake as the head coach of the Blues. But when the Bruins fired Montgomery, general manager Doug Armstrong jumped at the opportunity to bring him in. He was an assistant with the Blues before leaving for the Bruins and had the greatest regular-season record ever in Boston.

The nightmare scenario for the Blues was that they got worse under Montgomery. If Jordan Kyrou or Robert Thomas had not taken a step forward, that would have been a disaster. Despite his incredible record as a head coach, anything can happen, and this was a real fear. But that has not been the case, and the expectations are high.

There is no nightmare scenario for the Blues in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If Binnington looks like a pumpkin again and they get swept by the Golden Knights, everyone would understand that they weren’t that great. It would then be on the front office to understand what happened and improve the roster in response. But that is a different question for the Blues to answer.

If the Blues’ dreams come true again, it will be another bad example for NHL GMs to follow. St. Louis was 9-12-1 before firing Bannister, which may tell teams that games in October and November don’t actually matter. You cannot bank on 12-game winning streaks, a goalie finding meaning in the middle of the season, or a dramatic change in coaching. But the Blues have done it twice, and maybe other teams think they can too.

A more realistic dream for the Blues is winning a round and seeing great performances from their young stars in the postseason. Dylan Holloway may miss playoff games, which will hurt their chances. No hockey fan is writing off the Blues in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This article first appeared on NHL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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