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YouTube descriptionThe Blues are 5-5-1. They beat Vegas 6-2, then got shut out 4-0 by Carolina. Luke and Nick break down which team is the real one.Plus: Justin Barron, claimed off waivers a month ago, just had the first 4-point night by a Blues defenseman since Philip Broberg in March 2025.On today's episode:🏒 Vegas and Winnipeg vs. Minnesota, Nashville and Carolina: two Blues teams, one roster🏒 Justin Barron’s 4-point night and where it ranks in Blues history🏒 Mason McTavish: 10 points in 11 games and 6 goals🏒 Holloway and Snuggerud are scoring. Where is Robert Thomas?🏒 Kaskimaki, Suter and Stenberg: the fourth line that won’t quit🏒 Roster moves: Peterson down, Quinton Burns up🏒 Power play, Toropchenko’s return, and the week ahead: Montreal, Boston, Detroit🏒 Hot takes and predictions 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mason McTavish has 7 points in six games and leads the Blues. The Ducks scratched him in the playoffs last spring. Now the line he centers, with Connor McMichael and Jonatan Berggren, is the best thing the Blues have going. Luke and Nick break down what’s real through six games.Then the problem. The power play is 2-for-14, tied for 25th in the NHL, while the penalty kill is 17-for-19 and tied for 7th. Montgomery told us special teams have to be top 10 combined. We do the math on how far off they are.Also in this episode:The top line wakes up: six points against Columbus after two in the first four gamesDylan Peterson’s NHL debut and the fight in OttawaA potential Pius Suter & Buchnevich switch??Whether the Blues can finally win October🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don’t miss a drop.⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. It takes eleven seconds and it’s the biggest thing you can do for a small show.📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstlProud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Blues' preseason is over, and it wasn't pretty. They went 1-3 and scored 5 goals on 122 shots. The power play went 0-for-18. None of the projected top-six forwards scored. Luke and Nick dig into what's wrong with the offense and whether any of it should worry you before opening night in Dallas.Then the headline: the Adam Jiricek era begins. Jim Montgomery compared the 20-year-old to Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, and he was sent to Springfield anyway. Two days later he was back, after Logan Mailloux got hurt fighting for a teammate in Chicago. We talk about what Jiricek showed in camp, where he fits on the blue line, and whether he should stay up all year.And the name that keeps coming up: Alexander Nikishin. Carolina's 6-foot-3 defenseman asked for a trade, skipped Hurricanes camp, and is reportedly asking for about $9 million a year. With the power play stuck at zero and the blue line banged up, is he the answer for St. Louis? And is he worth that price? 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Blues finished last season as the hottest team in hockey and watched the playoffs from home. Luke and Nick break down what's changed.We start with the top line. Thomas, Holloway and Snuggerud put up 92 points in 25 games after the Olympic break, and Montgomery hasn't touched the combination in camp. How high does it go?Then the money line: Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael cost two first-rounders and Jordan Kyrou, and they're skating with Pavel Buchnevich. We get into the third line, which might be the shakiest group on the roster, and a fourth line with a real heavyweight in Ross Johnston — the first time St. Louis has had that look since Ryan Reaves.On the back end: Broberg–Mailloux, Lindstein–Parayko and Fowler–Carlo, plus how this group stops beating itself in the D-zone. The power play was 26th and the penalty kill was 25th, and Monty told us on this show they have to be top 10 combined — so what do Vinny Prospal and Greg Cronin actually change?Plus: is Hofer the No. 1 all the way, what does Binnington have to prove in a walk year, Snuggerud's contract year, and where the Blues land in a Central that runs through Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota. We each make our picks at the end. 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jim Montgomery has been a Blue three times: an undrafted rookie in 1993-94, an assistant on Craig Berube's staff, and now the man running the bench. Days before training camp opens, he sat down with Luke and Nick.He explains why Robert Thomas was "the easy choice" to become the 25th captain in franchise history. He takes apart the slow starts that have cost the Blues two seasons in a row, and tells us what camp looks like because of them. He talks about what the new additions of Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael give a second scoring line, how much Dylan Holloway's health decides the season, and which defensive pair he wants together from day one.Plus the one everybody has asked about since last season — what actually happened in Chicago when Hofer took his time getting to the net.0:00 Welcome, Jim Montgomery1:16 Robert Thomas, the 25th captain in franchise history6:44 A younger roster and a new identity9:41 Why the Blues keep starting slow11:58 The battle for the bottom six14:21 Fourth-line physicality16:32 McTavish, McMichael, and "Mikey and Mac T"18:33 A top-heavy offense20:10 Injuries, and what Dylan Holloway changes22:45 The defense pairs25:00 Special teams, Greg Cronin and Vinny Prospal27:36 Hofer, Binnington, and two top-10 goalies29:53 The Chicago goalie switch, explained33:03 The Central Division35:43 A brutal October start37:16 What he took from Carolina and Vegas40:13 Rapid fire: St. Louis food and golf 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.