Blues Captain Indirectly Calls Out Teammates Following 2-0 Loss To Stars

ST. LOUIS -- Brayden Schenn didn't name any teammates specifically, but he made a loud and clear point.

The St. Louis Blues captain was made himself abundantly clear following a 2-0 loss against the Dallas Stars at Enterprise Center on Saturday, a game in which the Blues (23-23-4) once again got off to a slow start, much like they did in a 4-2 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights and other games throughout this season.

When told of coach Jim Montgomery's comments that maybe the Blues need to do something different preparation-wise, change things up leading into games, Schenn said that is a coaching decision in the end.

But as far as he's concerned, "I think it just becomes individually having yourself ready to play, especially this time of the year,” Schenn said. “Points are crucial, playing at home.

“At the end of the day, no excuse not being ready to play, especially against good hockey teams. That’s the lesson we have to learn. You have to have yourself ready to play and when that happens, the team goes.”

Schenn, in his second season as Blues captain, obviously feels some individuals are not bringing themselves prepared to play games when the puck drops. And it's costing the Blues preciously in the wild card race.

They are now five points behind the Calgary Flames for the second wild card in the Western Conference, and the Flames have three games in hand.

Montgomery looked despondent in his postgame media session having to explain yet another game in which the Blues started slow, and he even called a timeout after Evgenii Dadonov scored 7:07 into the game.

"I didn’t think we were playing with the required amount of desire and passion that we should be showing at this time of year especially," Montgomery said.

The Blues had alumni in the building and Hall of Famers Curtis Joseph, Wayne Babych and the family of former assistant coach Jim Roberts watching.

"There’s no excuse," Schenn said. "We had alumni, Hall of Famers in here watching us play and we didn’t start well and it cost us. That’s just the reality of it."