Faulk sounds off on Blues effort as losing skid hits five

The St. Louis Blues saw their losing streak extended to five games with Monday's 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

It's been a sudden drop-off for the Blues, who have not registered a point since starting the season 3-0. The team has been outscored 25-8 over their last five games and defenceman Justin Faulk sounded off on the team's effort after their latest defeat.

"I can say it and [the fans] can see it, it's kind of a [pathetic] effort from us the last couple games," Faulk said. "We have leads, we're down one today going into the second period and just kind of lay an egg. There's no reason for it. The other team's trying to win, and if you can give them an inch, they can tell, and obviously Montreal saw it the other night.

"They saw we sat back and didn't want to play a hard game, and they took it over. L.A. did the same thing here."

Jordan Binnington started for the Blues Monday, but was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals on 19 shots. He was coming off a rough outing over the weekend against the Montreal Canadiens, in which he allowed six goals on 24 shots in a 7-4 defeat.

While Binnington has struggled, the Blues made it clear their recent woes extend well beyond goaltending.

“We got outworked and outskated,” head coach Craig Berube said. “Not hungry enough, not desperate enough. They gotta want to dig in and play a lot harder than that. I mean, we’re not playing good hockey.”

"I don't need to give you a long-winded answer," veteran forward Brayden Schenn added. "It comes down to three or four things. Our compete level, our willingness to work, forecheck and winning battles, and playing D-zone. It's kind of what it comes down to. It's not rocket science by any means. It's three or four things that we have to correct and correct them fast.

"You've got to realize how tough it is to win in this league, and I don't think we realize that right now."

The Blues will be back on the ice Thursday when they host the New York Islanders in the last of a three-game homestand.