51ºÚÁÏ

Across more than 30 years in management, Doug Armstrong has seen plenty.

From his days with the Minnesota North Stars, the Dallas Stars, Hockey Canada, and now the 51ºÚÁÏ Blues, Armstrong has won two Stanley Cups and two Olympic gold medals. He’s signed or traded for many players, and evaluated countless others.

The echoes stopped reverberating. The 20 shadows long disappeared from the blue line. The hype fizzled and the vibes sunk. The excitement waned and the anticipation dissolved.

By the end of Thursday night’s 5-0 Blues loss to the Wild, the ceremony of opening night was a but a memory. New jerseys, new videos, new introductions, refreshed hope, renewed faith, rebuilt belief — it all felt so distant on a night when the Blues were shut out in a season opener for the first time in franchise history.

Hockey fans in 51ºÚÁÏ have seen the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. They haven’t reached the end yet, but there’s tangible evidence that there’s something out there that they’re striving toward.

They’re not just wandering in the darkness, hoping and wishing for a sign of hope if they can just hang on long enough. That is where that rival organization in Chicago finds itself entering this NHL season.

Blues coach Jim Montgomery as well as Justin Faulk and Brayden Schenn gave their takes on what went wrong Thursday in the season opener and what the team needs to correct going forward.

'It's just a simple recipe' for Blues to succeed, Brayden Schenn says after defeat

If you wanted to know how the Blues were doing last year, their power play gave you a pretty good idea.

Before the Winter Classic, they owned the 28th-ranked power play in the NHL. Consequently, they had the 20th-best record in the league.