from Jeremy P. Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

The Blues’ bread and butter was stale for much of last season.

The club was built to have Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester as its top defensive pair and eat up a lot of important minutes. And for 1 ½ seasons after Bouwmeester was acquired in 2013, they did just that.

In 2013-14, the two combined for 88 points and a plus-minus rating of plus-46, averaging more than 24 minutes per game, most on the team.

But last season was a step back for Pietrangelo, 25, and Bouwmeester, 31. They didn’t always play together but when they did, they weren’t themselves. Pietrangelo finished with 46 points, but he was a minus-2. Bouwmeester closed with 13 points and was a plus-7.

“Well, I think they both didn’t play as well as they have in the past,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “With Petro, we need him back playing with that jump that he did in the last 20 league games and the whole playoffs. I think with Bouwmeester we need him getting back to where he’s a great 200-foot player. That’s what we’re looking for.”

A week into the Blues’ training camp, Pietrangelo and Bouwmeester have yet to see the ice together, and Hitchcock claims it’s not guaranteed they will open the regular-season together Oct. 8 against Edmonton.

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