Granted 10 days off the ice, and then four potential practice days, the Blues coaching staff began digging into how to beat ... the Blues.
Coach Jim Montgomery's staff scouted their own team during the 4 Nations break, finding weaknesses and possible improvements in the Blues' even-strength game, plus power play and penalty kill.
Montgomery asked associate coach Steve Ott (who runs the power play) to take on the penalty kill from an opposing angle. Assistant coach Mike Weber (who runs the penalty kill) took a peek at the power play.
"Where can we exploit you?" Montgomery said. "Where do we think? It's like a team scouting each other. We take that information and that's where we think we can really grow."
More than that, the Blues looked for ways to improve their forecheck by studying the teams that are elite at it. The staff took the five best forechecking teams in the league -- measured by how good a team is at retrieving pucks and preventing exits -- and looked for ways to implement that in St. Louis.
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Of course, that included more homework on Carolina and Florida, which have been at the top of the league in that category consistently.
"We took some wrinkles of that," Montgomery said. "We're not going to carbon copy any one team, but there are some things that the top five teams all have in common, and we're trying to make sure we have those same types of work habits, stick details and physicality."
The Blues practiced those details Wednesday at Centene Community Ice Center, the team's second practice since returning to the ice and preparing for Saturday's game against Winnipeg.
The first part of practice was devoted to "trying to be more aggressive on our forecheck," Montgomery said, and reviving their tracking habits. The second part revolved around the penalty kill.
The Blues' penalty kill has been one of the weakest parts of their team game this season, and the 71.3% success rate is the worst in franchise history since PK tracking began in 1977. Since Christmas, the Blues have killed only 60% of penalties, which is the worst mark in the NHL.
"We're really focusing on running straight lines, knowing our responsibilities in the diamond, knowing our responsibilities when it resets below the top of the circles," Montgomery said. "And then the stops and starts, when one guy goes, the other guys got to anticipate that next pass and get there, and the stick positioning that goes with it."
The Blues entered the break having allowed 10 power-play goals in their previous 10 games. They have not gone three straight games with a perfect PK since Nov. 25 to Dec. 3, the first four games of Montgomery's tenure with the Blues.
Montgomery said he previously had his staff scout themselves in Boston.
"We felt it was really good feedback, especially the special teams portion," Montgomery said. "The 5 on 5 portion, it was more beneficial this time through. That year we did it in Boston, we're having such a good year that there wasn't much to poke holes at.
"The feedback, for me, was a lot better this time around just because there was more feedback. Same thing with special teams both times. You want to know where you think you're vulnerable, and where you can get better and how."
* Forward Alexandre Texier was not at Blues practice Wednesday, the second session he's missed while out with an illness. Texier also missed the final two games before the 4 Nations break because he was sick.
* The Blues only had 11 forwards on the ice Wednesday with Texier sick and Zack Bolduc still with AHL affiliate Springfield but still showed what potential forward lines could look like Saturday vs. Winnipeg.
Jake Neighbours, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich were together, as were Dylan Holloway, Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou. Alexey Toropchenko, Radek Faksa and Nathan Walker formed a familiar unit, while Oskar Sundqvist and Mathieu Joseph skated as a duo with a rotating winger. It's assumed that either Texier or Bolduc would go with Sundqvist and Joseph.
* The Blues are not scheduled to practice Thursday.
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