With their latest loss, the Blues will need a miracle to make the playoffs

With their playoff hopes dwindling by the day, the St. Louis Blues needed a victory against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night but came up empty-handed. It could be the final nail in the coffin for their chances at a postseason appearance. 

Currently trailing the Los Angeles Kings by seven points for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, the Blues would need to potentially go undefeated over their last six games to even have a chance.

After hovering around the .500 mark for most of the season, it was on Jan. 18 that they were finally able to string wins together and show they had what it took to make a run at the postseason, going 19-12-2 during that time. 

But it proved to be too little too late, as the Blues will likely end the season as the ninth-best team in the Western Conference.

Along the way, the Blues have suffered some embarrassing losses, including being the only team in hockey to lose multiple games to the San Jose Sharks, who own the worst record in the NHL at 17-50.

With virtually all of their roster locked into contracts next year and beyond, the Blues will likely look to move on from a few players as they try to improve their team for the 2024-25 season.

Defensemen Justin Faulk, Torey Krug and Colton Parayko are all locked into contracts at $6.5M per year apiece and they will be at the forefront of trade discussions this offseason.

The emergence of left wing Jake Neighbours, who has scored a team-high 27 goals in 76 games after scoring only seven in his 52 career games before this season, could make him a candidate for a contract extension. 

With next year being his last under contract before reaching restricted free agency, the Blues would be smart to lock him into a deal as he looks like one of the future building blocks for the franchise.