RALEIGH, N.C. — It’s too late for the Blues to do a lot of things.

It’s a month or so too late to dream of contending for a playoff spot. It’s a couple weeks too late to envision a scenario in which a trade deadline selloff didn’t take place. The time has passed to ask the Blues to be a consistent team. The sand has fallen through the hourglass of the 2022-23 season already.

The most recent grain to fall came Tuesday during a 4-1 loss in Carolina, the Blues’ third straight loss since trading Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari to Toronto, and the third straight loss by at least three goals. St. Louis has been outscored 15-4 in its last three games and is inching closer to the NHL basement (and the higher draft lottery odds that come with it).

It’s too late to stop the momentum building towards the bottom, not with the inertia that comes with a depleted roster thanks to trades and injuries.

The Hurricanes gave them a little push in that direction on Tuesday night, scoring twice in the first eight minutes, and responding to St. Louis rallies with goals of their own. Andrei Svechnikov nearly had a hat trick after going 19 straight games without scoring. Seth Jarvis had a three-point game.

But the Blues helped them get there.

“They’re a fast team, but at the same time, we kind of gave them some chances that shouldn’t happen that are just mistakes on our end, not necessarily from how they play,” Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said.

A missed assignment by Calle Rosen off a lost faceoff in their own zone cost the Blues a goal. A pair of turnovers by Torey Krug and Colton Parayko cost St. Louis a couple more. The Hurricanes own the second-best record in the league, and they might have been the team to prove that it may be too late for the Blues’ defense to solve their season-long issues defending the slot.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Blues allowed a season-high 5.08 expected goals at 5 on 5 on Tuesday night, which is 1.36 expected goals more than the previous high watermark. The second period alone — when St. Louis allowed 2.91 expected goals — would have tied for the 10th-worst defensive effort of the season.

“I thought we battled,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “I didn’t mind the first period and the third period. The second period, I thought that they took the play to us a little bit too much.”

The Blues didn’t help Thomas Greiss out much in Ottawa on Sunday. They didn’t lend a hand to Jordan Binnington on Tuesday either, and his four goals allowed far undersold the performance he submitted in Raleigh.

“We’ve just got to focus on it,” Faulk said. “They’re mental errors and it’s a commitment to play defense. It’s hard. It’s not glorious, or glamorous, I should say. Not a ton of reward for it, well there is, you just don’t see it as much. You get a lot of chances offensively if you play well defensively. We just have to commit to it. There’s nothing more to it than that.”

By the end of the game, the Blues had become a punchline for the second game in a row.

Svechnikov tried a lacrosse goal as he attempted to post his third hat trick of the season. The PNC Arena crowd chanted “We want Svech” late in the third period when the Blues pulled Binnington in favor of an extra attacker. The building erupted when Svechnikov even stepped on the ice.

On Sunday in Ottawa, the in-arena DJ played “Mambo No. 5” when the Senators opened up a 5-0 lead on the Blues.

The rest of the Blues season should be judged with an eye towards the future.

The first-round picks that St. Louis has acquired have become currency for general manager Doug Armstrong, to either swing big on a quick retool or to play it safe (when has that ever been Armstrong’s reputation?) through drafting and development. The absences in the lineup should give younger players more opportunity to show what they can do at the NHL level. A brighter spotlight will also shine on budding franchise cornerstones Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.

It was an unpleasant light for Thomas and linemates Kyrou and Ivan Barbashev on Tuesday night, as the line was on the ice for three goals against. When they were on the ice at 5 on 5, the Blues were outshot 12-5. Carolina had 25 shot attempts while the Blues generated just 10.

“They didn’t generate much offensively, obviously,” Berube said. “They didn’t work themselves into enough separation and make enough plays in the offensive zone, that’s for sure. We’re going to need those guys to produce. They’re on the wrong side of it tonight.”

They mostly played against the Carolina top line of Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Jarvis, a trio that combined for eight points against the Blues.

“I don’t think it’s too much of an assignment, no,” Berube said. “I think that they’re capable players of playing against top lines on the other team. We’re going to continue to use them, and they’ve got to continue to get better.”

Thomas said: “I think a lot of guys played pretty well. I’m minus-3. Can’t happen if you want to win. So that’s on me.”

It’s unfair to pin the blame for those goals solely on Thomas, Kyrou and Barbashev. The Blues defensemen on the ice didn’t do their job. But Thomas nevertheless took responsibility to try to lead St. Louis through its current rough patch.

“It starts with me,” Thomas said. “I’ve got to play better. I’ve got to play better, lead the way and show the guys how it’s done. Tonight was the opposite. They showed me how it’s done.”

It’s not too late for that.