ST. LOUIS — At least the trade deadline is near.
The Blues ran their losing streak to six games with a 5-3 loss to the Kraken on Tuesday, leaving them one game before Friday’s trade deadline, when the exodus from St. Louis will officially be over until the end of the season.
Seattle forward Morgan Geekie scored two goals to lead the Kraken. Robert Thomas and Brandon Saad each scored for the Blues, as Jordan Binnington made 21 saves.
Geekie was the primary problem for the Blues, as he had just his third career multi-goal game on Tuesday night. He turned a Nikita Alexandrov turnover on the wall into a 2 on 1 rush, beating Binnington on the far post with a nearly perfect shot in the first period, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead.
In the second period, Geekie gave the Kraken a 3-2 lead when he won a faceoff, then beat Alexandrov to the net to put home a rebound. Geekie last scored twice in a game in March 2021.
Jamie Oleksiak’s third-period goal gave the Kraken a 4-2 lead with 10:14 left, giving Seattle breathing room in a game that previously had none. Pavel Buchnevich scored with 5:31 left to bring the Blues within 4-3, but the Blues could not find the equalizer with the goalie pulled.
Brandon Tanev's empty-netter sealed the game with 6.5 seconds remaining.
The Blues’ final game before the trade deadline comes Thursday in San Jose.
Special teams hot and cold
The Blues entered Tuesday with an ice cold power play, going 0 for 18 in the five games since Ryan O’Reilly was traded to Toronto. That wasn’t helped by going 0 for 4 against the Kraken.
The Blues wasted a prime opportunity when Alex Wennberg broke his stick at the start of a power play, leaving the Kraken with three players equipped with sticks. St. Louis had one shot attempts before a frozen puck stopped play. A later Blues power play was negated by Robert Thomas’ interference penalty.
The six-game goal drought on the power play is the longest of the season for the Blues.
Meanwhile, the Blues’ penalty kill is picking up the slack.
Thomas’ second-period shorthanded goal that tied the game at 1 was the Blues’ second shorty in the last three games. Thomas scored after Pavel Buchnevich picked off a Seattle pass in the defensive zone and bumped the puck to Thomas exiting the zone, and he later beat Martin Jones between his legs. It was Thomas’ first goal since Feb. 11 against Arizona.
Against Vancouver on Thursday night, Alexey Toropchenko scored a shorthanded goal. In fact, the Blues penalty kill has scored twice since the Blues have allowed a power-play goal.
Jared McCann’s goal was set up on the power play, but he technically scored seconds after Tyler Pitlick’s tripping penalty expired.
Schwartz finally returns
Two years after signing with Seattle, former Blues forward Jaden Schwartz finally made his return to St. Louis on Tuesday night. Schwartz played 10 seasons for the Blues before signing a five-year contract with the expansion Kraken in 2021.
Schwartz, 30, was injured for both of the Kraken’s visits to St. Louis last season.
“I was looking forward to coming back here just seeing everyone and being back,” Schwartz said Tuesday morning. “It's my first time being back since I left. You miss a lot of parts to St. Louis. It's such a great organization. Nothing but good things to say. I'm obviously excited to play them tonight and it's a big game for us too.”
Schwartz was honored with a tribute video during the first television timeout on Tuesday, and he acknowledged the Enterprise Center crowd by skating from the Seattle bench and waving to the fans.
He ranks in the top 20 in franchise history in games played, goals, assists and points.
“Obviously St. Louis has a special place in my heart,” Schwartz said. “I met so many good people here, a lot of good relationships. Obviously winning here and being able to do that. Had a lot of good runs too in the playoffs.”
Schwartz was a key member of the Blues’ 2019 Cup-winning team, leading the team with 12 postseason goals and ranking second with 20 points in the playoffs.
This season, Schwartz has 13 goals and 14 assists for Seattle.
“I remember when I first got here, a couple of the older guys saying how fast it goes and to enjoy every moment,” Schwartz said. “When you come back, it doesn't feel like I've been gone for as long as I have. You can't really look too far ahead, you just take it day by day. I remember seeing a couple of the guys that were in the lineup that were 30 and thought they were old. Now I'm one of those guys.”
Back on the board
Brandon Saad scored his first goal since returning from an upper-body injury against Vancouver last week. Saad tied the game at 2 on the rush after a stretch pass from Nick Leddy behind the Blues net.
Saad snuck behind the Kraken defense during a bad change at 4 on 4, and may have caught Jones off guard with a quick shot from the top of the circles as Vince Dunn chased him down to apply pressure.
The goal quietly gave Saad 16 goals on the season, which is tied for third-most among Blues players, trailing only Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn. Saad is expected to become more of a go-to player in the top-six for the Blues without O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko.
