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鈥淚 felt good,鈥� said Thomas, who had been sidelined by a fractured ankle. 鈥淢y timing was a little bit off. I started getting more comfortable as the game went on.鈥�

He drove offensive play Tuesday night. He won faceoffs. He played more than 23 minutes, quarterbacked the power play and earned an assist.

And yet the Blues fell short. Again.

Their 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild left the Blues 1-5-1 in their past seven games. They are 8-11-1 overall with a minus-20 goal differential.

They just aren鈥檛 scoring enough.

鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating,鈥� Blues winger Jake Neighbours said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e generating, right? The looks are there. There鈥檚 a lot of positive things that we鈥檙e creating, playing well, we鈥檙e in games. We have to find ways to win.鈥�

Yes, they do. As they say in the NHL, American Thanksgiving is a major milestone. Teams that are stalled at that point face difficult odds getting back into the chase.

That helps explain why the struggling Boston Bruins just fired Jim Montgomery, one of the league鈥檚 most respected coaches.

While the Blues鈥� overarching goal is to become a serious playoff threat by 2026, general manager Doug Armstrong still has expectations for this season.

His biggest offseason moves had that broader goal in mind. He issued free-agent offer sheets to defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway while hoping to add them to the long-term nucleus.

But Armstrong also added the Joseph brothers, Mathieu and Pierre-Olivier, along with Alexandre Texier while looking to keep the Blues competitive in the near term.

Injuries have made that difficult. This team could not afford to lose Thomas, who is one of the better all-around centers in the league.

Nor could the Blues afford to lose Broberg, who has earned a top-four defensive role. He quickly proved capable of shouldering a big workload while excelling in all game situations.

With Torey Krug sidelined with a career-threatening injury and fellow defenseman Nick Leddy shelved by his own long-term injury, Broberg had become an essential player.

The Joseph brothers suffered injury hits, as did Alexey Toropchenko. Blues coach Drew Bannister has had his hands full assembling a lineup from game to game.

Still, the Blues played solid road games while taking three out of four points during their swing through Buffalo and Boston. In their past two defeats, the Blues played OK overall while losing at Carolina to the Hurricanes and at home to the Wild.

The Hurricanes are 13-4-0 this season. The Wild have a 12-3-3 mark. These are teams playing at a high level with sturdy defensive structure.

For teams struggling to score, like the Blues, they present a daunting challenge.

But 鈥� the Blues must find ways to win games. Going 1-5-1 under any circumstances doesn鈥檛 cut it. Maybe the Blues can start getting well Thursday against the rebuilding San Jose Sharks.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got to work harder to get the puck back, as a group, as a whole, as a team, if we want to have the puck more and create more offense,鈥� Bannister said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the No. 1 thing for our guys right now going into the game against San Jose.鈥�

Thomas expedited his injury recovery and returned in fine form. That should trigger a chain reaction through the lineup and elevate the group.

Defenseman Scott Perunovich has been a revelation. Bannister had no choice but to play him, given the team鈥檚 litany of injuries, and Perunovich finally progressed.

鈥淗e seems a lot more confident, certainly, with the puck,鈥� Bannister said. 鈥淎nd offensively, he鈥檚 doing a lot of things. I think he has played extremely well for us.鈥�

Perunovich played 17:22 or more in five of his past seven games and emerged with two goals, one assist and a plus-1 rating. Maybe, just maybe, he can earn a spot in the team鈥檚 long-term nucleus after all.

Jordan Kyrou has produced a point in eight of his past nine games. The net-crashing Neighbours broke through to score goals in his past two games after failing to score in his previous nine.

Toropchenko is making his case for a long-term role by pulling his weight on the effective identity line with Radek Faksa and career pest Nathan Walker.

But any other Blues 鈥� especially the higher-paid veterans 鈥� should have much more to give. Pavel Buchnevich has scored just two goals since Oct. 11. Brandon Saad has a pair of two-goal games but no goals in his other 15 outings.

Defenseman Justin Faulk had four points in his first three games this season, but he has produced just one point since then despite spending much time on the top power-play unit.

Bannister has shuffled his supporting-cast forwards, including Zack Bolduc, Texier and Mathieu Joseph, in and out of the lineup while seeking more consistent push.

Armstrong has already made one move, jettisoning Kasperi Kapanen on waivers. More change could be forthcoming if this team can鈥檛 gain traction.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got to get back to winning hockey games and playing good as a team here right now,鈥� Bannister said.