Mason McTavish has 7 points in six games and leads the Blues. The Ducks scratched him in the playoffs last spring. Now the line he centers, with Connor McMichael and Jonatan Berggren, is the best thing the Blues have going. Luke and Nick break down what’s real through six games.

Then the problem. The power play is 2-for-14, tied for 25th in the NHL, while the penalty kill is 17-for-19 and tied for 7th. Montgomery told us special teams have to be top 10 combined. We do the math on how far off they are.

Also in this episode:

• The top line wakes up: six points against Columbus after two in the first four games
• Dylan Peterson’s NHL debut and the fight in Ottawa
• A potential Pius Suter & Buchnevich switch??
• Whether the Blues can finally win October

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The Blues' preseason is over, and it wasn't pretty. They went 1-3 and scored 5 goals on 122 shots. The power play went 0-for-18. None of the projected top-six forwards scored. Luke and Nick dig into what's wrong with the offense and whether any of it should worry you before opening night in Dallas.

Then the headline: the Adam Jiricek era begins. Jim Montgomery compared the 20-year-old to Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, and he was sent to Springfield anyway. Two days later he was back, after Logan Mailloux got hurt fighting for a teammate in Chicago. We talk about what Jiricek showed in camp, where he fits on the blue line, and whether he should stay up all year.

And the name that keeps coming up: Alexander Nikishin. Carolina's 6-foot-3 defenseman asked for a trade, skipped Hurricanes camp, and is reportedly asking for about $9 million a year. With the power play stuck at zero and the blue line banged up, is he the answer for St. Louis? And is he worth that price?

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The Blues finished last season as the hottest team in hockey and watched the playoffs from home. Luke and Nick break down what's changed.

We start with the top line. Thomas, Holloway and Snuggerud put up 92 points in 25 games after the Olympic break, and Montgomery hasn't touched the combination in camp. How high does it go?

Then the money line: Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael cost two first-rounders and Jordan Kyrou, and they're skating with Pavel Buchnevich. We get into the third line, which might be the shakiest group on the roster, and a fourth line with a real heavyweight in Ross Johnston — the first time St. Louis has had that look since Ryan Reaves.

On the back end: Broberg–Mailloux, Lindstein–Parayko and Fowler–Carlo, plus how this group stops beating itself in the D-zone. The power play was 26th and the penalty kill was 25th, and Monty told us on this show they have to be top 10 combined — so what do Vinny Prospal and Greg Cronin actually change?

Plus: is Hofer the No. 1 all the way, what does Binnington have to prove in a walk year, Snuggerud's contract year, and where the Blues land in a Central that runs through Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota. We each make our picks at the end.

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