Christmas Break Comes At Perfect Time for Reeling Blues

Tis the season for some joy -- and for the Blues, it's not only for the fact that they'll get to spend the holiday with their friends and family, but also for the fact that their five-day break couldn't be coming at a better time as they'll try to regroup following a disappointing stretch of hockey.

For the third time in their last four games, the team blew yet another late-game lead on Thursday night in which they led 2-0 after the opening period, before going on to allow five unanswered goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning in their 5-2 loss inside Amalie Arena. The loss dropped the Blues to 5-10-1 overall on the road for the season and has them sitting in third place in the Central division (seven points behind Chicago for first -- could be nine if they win their final game tomorrow night; three points behind Minnesota for second) as Christmas approaches.

Also, on top of that? Starting goaltender Jake Allen may have injured himself late in the loss on Thursday night after he awkwardly attempted to make a save on Alex Killorn when he scored the Bolts' fourth goal of the night. The teams' number one net minder was removed from the game following the play, and as of right now, the team is just calling it a 'lower-body injury', per the official team website. Hopefully it's just a tweak and the upcoming days off will be enough for him to heal and not have to miss any games -- it'll be a wait-and-see type of thing though.

Including Thursday night's disappointing loss, the Blues enter their 'break' (of sorts) having lost three of their last four, as well as eight of their last twelve overall. Their only win in the last four came on Tuesday night in Dallas when they defeated the Stars' 3-2 in overtime behind a game-winning goal from David Perron. As for the three losses though? All three of them were games that the team led at some point or another in the final period of regulation. They led 4-3 at home against the Blackhawks before giving up three in the final 20 minutes and losing 6-4 -- and then responded the next game by leading 2-1 in the third against Edmonton at home as well, before giving up a goal and going on to lose 3-2 in overtime. Then, of course, the Tampa Bay game is included as well, in which was a total meltdown in more ways than one.

Overall, Vladimir Tarasenko and the Notes are 18-12-5 overall, and that is all despite the fact that they haven't played very good of hockey away from the Scottrade Center as they haven't won back-to-back on the road not even once this season. The good news though? When the team hits the ice next, which will come on Wednesday night against Philadelphia, they'll be starting a six game home stand, as well as a stretch that will see them playing eight of their next 11 at home -- where they are 13-2-4 at overall -- which also includes the Winter Classic on January 2nd.

So while this recent stretch of hockey is not only disappointing, but pretty concerning as well, especially the continous 'dump and chase' style and losses due to sitting back on the lead while they stop attacking all together, the fact that they're still in decent shape when it comes to not only the division, but the playoff race as well, this mini-break couldn't be coming at a better time. There is still a lot of hockey left to be played and hopefully Hitch and the boys can regroup and get back to their winning ways when the puck drops again starting on Wednesday night.