How can Blues make NHL playoffs? A day-by-day look at what needs to happen (2025)

ST. LOUIS — It could all come down to Game No. 82 — and possibly beyond — for the St. Louis Blues.

The Blues put themselves in a tremendous position to make the NHL playoffs with a 12-game winning streak. But just like that, they’re on a three-game losing skid after a 4-3 shootout loss to the lowly Seattle Kraken on Saturday. While their chances of advancing are still somewhat favorable, they come down to ifs and ands.

The Blues are sitting in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 94 points, while the Calgary Flames are breathing down their necks with 90 points and two games in hand.

There will be a lot of scoreboard watching over the next couple of days.

Here’s a day-by-day look:

Sunday: The Blues are in the playoffs if the Flames lose in regulation to the San Jose Sharks. If the Flames get one point, the race continues.

Monday: Both teams are off.

Tuesday: The Blues host Utah Hockey Club in their final game of the regular season and are in with a regulation win. Meanwhile, the Flames are hosting the Vegas Golden Knights and the puck drop is about an hour later. If the Blues lose and the Flames win, the race continues.

Wednesday: The Blues can only wait and wonder while the Flames are off.

Thursday: The Flames will travel to the Los Angeles Kings for their final game of the regular season. If the Flames win, which means they’ll have won their last three games, then they will grab the playoff spot (if the Blues lost Tuesday). That’s because they will have 96 points and the Blues 94 or 95.

There’s also a path to a tiebreaker playoff spot for the Flames. If the Blues win their final game in overtime or a shootout and the Flames win all three of their games in regulation, both teams will have 96 points but the Flames will have the first tiebreaker with 32 regulation wins to the Blues’ 31. If one of the Flames’ wins comes in overtime or a shootout in that same scenario, the Blues will get the playoff spot because they will be tied in the first tiebreaker (31 regulation wins each) and the Blues currently have an insurmountable 39-34 lead in regulation and overtime wins, the second tiebreaker.

All of this could’ve been much different if the Blues hadn’t given up a goal to the Edmonton Oilers with 20 seconds left in regulation Wednesday, costing them the overtime point, or if they hadn’t fallen to lowly Seattle. But this is where they are, and after needing a franchise-record winning streak to get here, they’ll take it.

“You’ve got to grab points, and we didn’t grab a point last game (against Edmonton),” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “If we would’ve grabbed a point last game, we would’ve been in real good shape. But we’re still in really good shape — we control our destiny.

“After the 4 Nations (Face-Off), if anyone said we could win our last game of the year and make the playoffs, we’d all take it. So, we’re in a real good spot because of the effort we’ve done over the last couple of months.”

The Blues earn a point but fall to the Kraken in the shootout. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/rSsVIsgyjY

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 13, 2025

That’s fair, but the Blues haven’t resembled anything close to what they looked like during their 12-game winning streak.

For a team that outscored its opponents 33-14 at five-on-five during the streak, the difference has been just 8-6 in the last three games.

In the Blues’ 3-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, they had three shots on goal in the first period and finished with 15 (tied for a season low). In the shootout loss to Seattle on Saturday, they also had just three shots in the first period and finished with 23.

“I just think we were a little tight to start the game (Saturday) for whatever reason, but we loosened up,” Montgomery said. “I thought our second period, the first five minutes, we started to see Blues’ hockey and the entire third period.”

But overall, the offense has looked disconnected, and it’s clear how much the team misses forward Dylan Holloway, who is out week to week with a lower-body injury and is not skating.

Montgomery has had no choice but to mix up his line combinations and change them in-game. At the end of Saturday’s game, he had Jake Neighbours, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou together, along with Pavel Buchnevich, Brayden Schenn and Jimmy Snuggerud.

The Blues must find some rhythm without Holloway because his injury could keep him out for the first round of the playoffs — should they qualify — and potentially longer.

While they continue to play without Holloway, they did get one injured player back Saturday: Colton Parayko.

The defenseman was a surprise addition to the lineup. Montgomery said Parayko was doubtful for the game against Seattle and that Tuesday’s game against Utah was a target date for his possible return from a knee scope.

But after Parayko missed the last 17 games, in which the Blues went a shocking 13-3-1, he returned.

“I’ve been building the last week,” Parayko said. “It’s been good, where you turn the corner and use practice to get better and better. This morning, it felt pretty good, so I gave it a go.”

Parayko played 23 minutes, 21 seconds, and in addition to scoring his 16th goal of the season, he blocked a team-high five shots.

“He looked really good,” Montgomery said. “It looks like he’s ready to go full tilt again.”

He's baaack 👀 #stlblues pic.twitter.com/uCbn6ye5YW

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 13, 2025

However, the Blues didn’t have their full arsenal on defense as Philip Broberg missed the game after returning home for personal reasons. It’s not known if he’ll be available for Tuesday’s game.

But with or without Broberg, the Blues feel good after a third period in Seattle that might’ve been their best of the three-game road trip.

“I think, looking at this game, I think we got that swagger back in the third period,” said Blues defenseman Nick Leddy, who scored in the third period. “That’s how we were playing during that win streak, and we can see how effective that is. If you look back a few weeks ago and saw where we were then and now, we’ll take it all day.”

The Blues do not have as good a chance at the No. 1 wild-card spot as they did a few days ago.

The Minnesota Wild beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in overtime Saturday after trailing 2-0. The Wild play their final game of the regular season against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday at home. Minnesota will secure the top wild card with just one point, or if the Blues get just one point or lose in regulation in their game on Tuesday.

But as far as sneaking into the postseason, the Blues are still in control.

“The group has done a great job over the last month and a bit here,” Parayko said. “Win and we’re in. It’s in our court. Regroup here and put our best foot forward and give ourselves a good chance of getting into the playoffs.”

If the Blues don’t advance as a result of the Flames-Sharks outcome Sunday, Montgomery isn’t worried about the pressure his players will be facing Tuesday.

“If you’re immersed in the moment and you’re thinking about what you can control, which is your next shift, then you don’t even feel the pressure,” Montgomery said. “This is a welcomed opportunity, and that’s the way we’re looking at it.”

(Photo of Colton Parayko: Rio Giancarlo / Getty Images)

Jeremy Rutherford is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the St. Louis Blues. He has covered the team since the 2005-06 season, including a dozen years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He is the author of "Bernie Federko: My Blues Note" and "100 Things Blues Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." In addition, he is the Blues Insider for 101 ESPN in St. Louis. Follow Jeremy on Twitter @jprutherford