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At 6:37 p.m. Tuesday, John Kelly walked alone through the familiar Dan Kelly Memorial Press Box to an unfamiliar destination: the visiting team’s broadcast booth.

This was his new office in �����Ӱ�ԭ��, for a night anyway.

It’s still late October, but for Blues coach Jim Montgomery, this fall is feeling an awful lot like last winter.

A 2-1 overtime loss to the Kings on Tuesday night was the latest exhibit presented as evidence to Montgomery. It was a forgettable first two periods, devoid of both offensive chances and competitiveness, that frustrated Montgomery as his Blues continued their inconsistent offerings in the opening two weeks of the regular season.

Get your questions ready and join in at 1 p.m. Wednesday for our weekly Blues chat.

Matthew DeFranks: Good afternoon. The Blues are 3-2-1, on pace for 96 points. They finish up a home stand tomorrow against Utah. Let's get to your questions.

The Blues lost in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night. Here's what a frustrated head coach Jim Montgomery, Robert Thomas, Tyler Tucker and Justin Faulk had to say about the team's play.

Justin Faulk: 'We know we're not playing to our potential'

It took a couple periods, but Tuesday's 2-1 Blues loss to the Kings livened up in the third period.

Adrian Kempe scored the game-winning goal with 3:10 remaining in overtime, preventing the Blues from winning a second in a row after Pavel Buchnevich was called for hooking in overtime.

John Kelly saw a lot of Blues hockey during his 21 years as a broadcaster in �����Ӱ�ԭ��.

On a recent appearance on the “Net Front Presence” podcast, Kelly detailed some of the moments that he remembers most, and other topics on his move to Los Angeles, plus hearing from Blues players over the summer when he was not brought back by the organization.

Toward the end of morning skate Tuesday, Blues coach Jim Montgomery gathered his four-man leadership group.

Captain Brayden Schenn and alternate captains Robert Thomas, Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk met Montgomery in the neutral zone for a quick conversation. The meeting came one day after Montgomery was disappointed with the team’s practice and hours before they were to host the struggling Kings.

John Kelly has returned before to broadcast games of teams he formerly covered. But never in his 37-year career as an NHL announcer has he called a contest involving a club that didn’t want him back — his previous three NHL job switches had been on his own terms.

But that is about to change.

On the way home from last week’s 8-3 loss to the Blackhawks, Blues goaltender Joel Hofer could not help but think of a pair of games 45 months ago.

Hofer was hours removed from allowing seven goals in a blowout loss to Chicago. But nearly four years ago, Hofer was in a similar spot as an AHL goaltender. He was in his first season in Springfield (Massachusetts) and in January 2022 was tagged for seven goals in back-to-back starts.

The �����Ӱ�ԭ�� Post-Dispatch’s Matthew DeFranks and Nathan Mills talk about the Blues' blowout loss to the Blackhawks, and then defensive clinic vs. the Stars, plus Jordan Kyrou's two-way game and Joel Hofer's mentality moving forward. Then former Blues broadcaster John Kelly joins the show to discuss his return to �����Ӱ�ԭ�� as a broadcaster with Los Angeles.

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