As Blues tumble, tempers flare between teammates Bortuzzo, Sanford during practice

After a disappointing 10-14-4 start to the season, the St. Louis Blues are now taking their frustration out on each other as tensions spilled over in Monday's practice.

Fists flew between defenceman Robert Bortuzzo and forward Zach Sanford after a battle drill in front of the net at iceZONE in Hazelwood, Mo.

Bortuzzo, 29, landed several blows to the jaw of Sanford, 24, who even dropped his gloves in the altercation before coaching staff separated the two.

"That happens. Guys are frustrated and they should be. So sometimes in practice, it boils over and things happen," Blues interim coach Craig Berube told reporters after practice.

"That's what happens because they do care and they want to be successful and they want to win."

St. Louis is coming off a 6-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

Right winger Vladimir Tarasenko even apologized to fans for the team's lacklustre performance in that loss on home ice.

"I apologize to all of our fans," he said Sunday. "We can't play at home like this. It's unacceptable. I don't know how to fix it. We'll work on it, but it doesn't work for now."

St. Louis had high hopes of making a deep playoff run this year after signing free agents David Perron, Tyler Bozak and Patrick Maroon, as well as acquiring Ryan O'Reilly through a trade with Buffalo.

However, the busy off-season hasn't translated to the ice. With 24 points on the season, only the Los Angeles Kings and the league-worst Chicago Blackhawks have fewer at 23.

The Blues fired head coach Mike Yeo last month and have yet to find answers for their struggles.

As Berube pointed out, it's not uncommon for things to get heated between teammates during practice — especially when things aren't going well for a team.

The Blue will host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.