ST. LOUIS – Drew Bannister has coached the St. Louis Blues into this year’s NHL playoff picture in a season that could have easily turned south when the team fired Craig Berube two months ago.

But the work is far from done to save this season. The Blues officially completed two-thirds of their regular-season schedule on Monday. They currently hold a two-point lead for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

And now, more than arguably any other point of the season, the pressure’s on to perform. The Blues used a strong stretch around the All-Star break to climb into a playoff position, winning seven of eight games around both ends of the break. A stretch of rather uninspiring play has followed since then, with St. Louis losing three of their last four games.

Mistakes mount in tough stretch for Blues; Toronto’s Auston Matthews steals show in St. Louis

The Blues promoted Bannister from AHL Springfield as their interim coach on Dec. 12. When he first took over, there was a key emphasis on the terms “accountability” and “compete,” at least in the eyes of General Manager Doug Armstrong.

St. Louis has rallied to a 16-10-1 record behind Bannister, and while there’s been improvement, he says there’s still room for quite a bit more.

“I think our overall game has continued to grow, but there’s still parts of our game where we have to get better,” Bannister told FOX 2 ahead of Monday’s game. “I think that comes down to consistency, willingness to skate, willingness to compete, and our second and third efforts. When it’s there, we have success. When it isn’t, we don’t. It has to be awareness from us [and] our dressing room. Whether we’re playing Toronto, Nashville, or Columbus, those things that make us successful have to be there.”

His thorough answer followed a question about accountability and compete, specifically what it looks like two months into his new job as the Blues line up for a potential playoff run. Bannister also spoke in depth about the two terms on Monday.

Accountability

Merriam-Webster defines accountability as “an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.”

Drew Bannister’s remarks: “I think the accountability within the group is much better now with themselves [compared to December]. When things aren’t going well, we’ve shown a willingness as a group to change lines and see if we can get guys going. Doesn’t mean sitting guys out, but moving them around a little bit to get a little more jump. A little more awareness that we have to do better on the ice and on the bench.”

Accountability was tested early into Bannister’s run as coach, particularly with two of the team’s top skaters. Jordan Kyrou owned up to remarks he made on previous head coach Craig Berube that ignited loud boos in Bannister’s NHL coaching debut. Kyrou has followed it up with improved production and extended ice time.

Two games later, Bannister held out Pavel Buchnevich late in a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. After that, Bannister and Buchnevich had a productive conversation about team efforts and expectations.

More recently, Bannister and Sammy Blais have been trying to find ways to address setbacks in the goal-scoring department (one goal in 44 games) while maintaining top form in his physicality (152 hits). Blais has been a healthy scratch on a few occasions recently.

“I’ve talked to Sammy about it,” said Bannister. “We showed him clips. [The lack of goals] has been clear to him over the last couple of days since we took him out of the lineup that he needs to be around the net front and be more of a net anchor when he’s around the ice.”

Forward Brandon Saad says it comes to being prepared for different game flows and circumstances each game and understanding how to adapt.

“It’s just being prepared every game,” said Saad. “You’re not always going to have your best game, but regardless, you got to find a way to stay in games and win hockey games, because that’s the difference right now in the year. We know how tight the points are. For us to find ways to win, it’s going to be different every night, trying to have different heroes step up and win hockey games.”

The Blues also recalled 2021 first-round pick Zach Bolduc on Tuesday, presumably to make his NHL debut Thursday, and in an effort to mix up lines a bit after their recent stretch of losses.

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Cardinals (Seasonal)

Compete

Merriam-Webster defines compete as the ability “to strive consciously or unconsciously for an objective” (such as a victory) and to “be in a state of rivalry.”

Drew Bannister’s remarks: “I think our compete level has raised. I don’t know if there’s a consistency with it that we’d like to see, but it’s getting closer. Certainly, in the games we’ve won, we’ve been very effective in the ways we’ve competed as a group.”

In reference to those comments, Bannister says there are at least a few examples in which the Blues did not give a full 60 minutes of compete to the point where it might have affected the game’s outcomes.

In a 1-0 loss to Columbus right before All-Star break and a 4-1 loss to Toronto last week, Bannister said both outplayed the Blues by outskating them. In last Saturday’s loss against Nashville, he said the Blues passed up on several opportunities to shoot on goal.

After Monday’s loss to the Maple Leafs, Bannister hinted that compete wasn’t a problem as much as making untimely mistakes and awareness of those mistakes.

“We’re putting ourselves in a position to win those hockey games,” said Bannister. “We have to find ways. It is disappointing. Certainly, disappointment’s going to be there, and we have to find a way quickly to turn it around.”

The critical comments don’t necessarily mean compete hasn’t been there for the Blues, just not as consistently as Bannister had envisioned. Some ways it’s come into form include St. Louis coming back from deficits in nearly half of their wins under Bannister and making significant strides on its power play since the coaching change.

Defenseman Colton Parayko says a two-day break in between games should help the team regroup and build a competitive edge.

“We know where we’re at in the standings,” said Parayko. “Everybody knows where we’re at and we know these are big games. We’re going to come to work here the next couple of days, get ready for Thursday, and give it our best shot to get two more points.”

The Blues close a four-game homestand against the New York Islanders on Thursday. Then comes a daunting stretch of road games, which includes eight of their next nine away from home and several of those against playoff-positioned teams.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.