The St. Louis Blues will have three home games Christmas week, one of their best chances yet to get back into serious playoff contention after a stifling December. But to sweep the week they'll need to put together a win against three first place teams—the Detroit Red Wings and the Vancouver Canucks at Scottrade Center, not to mention putting away the first-place Atlanta Thrashers on the road. It's a tall order for the Blues, who took a 4-1 loss on Saturday against the San Jose Sharks. The Nashville Predators, second in the Blues' Central division, are what pass for a respite in this tough section of the home schedule.
↵The Blues' struggles since their sterling first month have been well-covered. Since ending their most recent five game skid—their second of the season—the Blues are 3-3. They've scored 10 fewer goals than the average team through this point of the season, which makes the offensive concerns some fans had in the offseason seem pretty justified.
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