The Blues haven’t seen the Capitals since opening night in 2019. They probably haven’t missed the Capitals much in these nearly two in a half years between meetings. Both teams are completely different in construction. The Blues’ captaincy shifted from Alex Pietrangelo, who departed, to Ryan O’Reilly. The leaving of Pietrangelo and the loss of Bouwmeester forced a reshaping of the Blues’ defensive corps, and many fans are not happy with what they’ve become.
They’re smaller, they’re less aware, they’re slower, and - based on Wednesday night’s loss to the Penguins - they’re completely ok with allowing four unanswered goals.