The St. Louis Blues reached the Devils game with a fresh setback behind them, dropping a 3-1 decision to the New York Rangers on Tuesday in the second stop of a four-game road trip. Joe Hoefer started in net for the Blues and took the loss, and the result left St. Louis needing a quick reset before the matchup with the New Jersey Devils.
That is why Blues vs Devils is drawing attention now. The Devils face St. Louis before beginning a three-game road trip of their own, so both teams arrive with travel already part of the equation. New Jersey was off on Wednesday, while the Blues had just left New York after the Rangers scored less than two minutes into the first period and then added two more goals in the third to control the game.
The numbers around the Blues make the setup more pointed. Hoefer entered that game with a 6-4-1 record, a 2.39 GAA and a.918 SV%, while Jordan Binnington had started four games and was sitting at 1-3-0 with a 4.11 GAA and a.846 SV%. St. Louis came in at 7-6-1, and the loss moved that record to 7-7-1 even after a late goal at 19:01 of the third period.
That is the part that complicates the picture for New Jersey. The Blues were presented as barely above water before the Rangers game, yet they were also coming off a 3-1 loss that pushed them back to even. Per Kristy Flannery, roster changes for the Devils had not been determined, which leaves the immediate question not about a dramatic overhaul but about whether the same group takes the ice again as the road trip starts. Grimace already picked another Devils win, but the Blues have shown enough through the first leg of this trip to make the next game more than a routine stop.
