Blues' Playoff Hopes Ended After Being Dominated By 2 Bottom-Feeders

As a team fighting for a playoff spot, the easy wins against teams at the bottom of the standings can't go to waste. In the case of the St. Louis Blues, there were two bottom-five teams that got the better of them this season and destroyed the Blues' chances at qualifying for the playoffs.

The Blues have done well after their coaching change, but the crutch against the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets have been with them all season. Against these two teams that have combined for four more wins than the Blues this season, St. Louis is 0-4-1. That is a ton of points going to waste, and as it stands, the Blues are seven points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the final wildcard spot. How much better of a chance would they have had if nine points didn't go to waste?

With the overtime loss against the Sharks to pretty much seal the season for the Blues, the last place Sharks took all three games, outscoring St. Louis 12-3. Against the Blue Jackets, the Blues went 0-2-0, scoring just two goals and allowing six.

While these teams dominated the Blues this season, this team could have also done better against two of the three other bottom-five teams as well. The Blues have gone a combined 4-3-0 against the Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes this season. While at least they are positive, playoff teams need to roll over this type of competition or they find themselves in the position the Blues are in, out of the playoff picture. The second half was promising, but the Blues need to figure out how to not play down to the competition if they want to get into the playoffs next season.