Pietrangelo frustrated with Blues' struggles: 'We need to be better'

With four wins in their last 10 games and losses in three of their past five, the St. Louis Blues are anything but happy about their play of late.

The club dropped a 5-3 contest to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, a game they were out-shot handily 38-17 and one that looks to have pushed the team to its limit.

"It's frustrating," captain Alex Pietrangelo said, according to NHL.com's Lou Korac. "We're tired of talking about it, we're tired of answering the questions from outside our locker room.

"We need to be better, especially early on."

One of the team's growing concerns has been the play of goaltender Jake Allen, who was pulled for the second time in four games on Tuesday after conceding three goals on 11 shots in the first period.

"He's not stopping the puck," head coach Ken Hitchcock said of Allen following the loss to Boston. "He's having a tough go of it. We can jump all over him or rally around him. We have a choice.

"Thank God Hutts is playing hard or we'd be in really tough shape."

Of course Allen himself is well aware his play hasn't been up to snuff.

"It's frustrating for me," Allen said, according to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I really always have high expectations for myself. I always set the bar really high. I've got to be better."

With Tuesday's game in the books, the Blues concluded a six-game road swing that saw the club go 3-3-0. The team has been stellar on home ice this season with a 16-5-4 record, but has seen a complete contrast on the road, going 5-10-1.

A three-game home stand could help turn things back in the Blues' favor, but Hitchcock isn't sold on the idea.

"I don't know about that. You are what you are," the Blues bench boss said.

Nevertheless, the Blues will host all three California clubs over the next week in games St. Louis must win if the team hopes to hold down its current playoff spot.