The new-coach bump has the St. Louis Blues in the mix of the playoff fight. The Blues will look to continue their winning ways when they visit the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
The Blues are 3-0-1 since Jim Montgomery was hired, with the latest success an impressive 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday to begin a four-game road trip.
“A five-guys-go mentality from our defensive zone to their net was really good from the start of the game,” Montgomery said. “I liked how it was wave after wave. Everybody was a huge part of that win.”
Since Montgomery took over, the Blues have outscored their opposition 14-5 in regulation time and been perfect on the penalty kill, having snuffed 10 consecutive opposition power plays.
Both of those elements came into play in the second period against the Jets. After killing a pair of penalties in the middle frame, goals by Jordan Kyrou — the first of his two — and Dylan Holloway broke the scoreless deadlock and sent St. Louis off to victory. The Blues outshot Winnipeg 19-3 in the period.
“Our first period led to the second period,” Montgomery said. “Our defensive game, the entire game, we were above people. We weren’t giving up odd-man rushes, and our checking skills were really good. That led to a lot of offensive transition.”
The new coach also sparked Holloway, who has scored four goals in a three-game run and is enjoying a four-game point streak, in which he has netted seven points.
“It definitely feels good, but you can’t get complacent,” said Holloway, who hails from Calgary. “I’ve still got to keep grinding, keep working, keep shooting pucks, that kind of thing. Hopefully they keep going in.”
The Flames return to action after an emotional 3-0 victory over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. They snapped a four-game skid.
The family of the late Johnny Gaudreau was on hand, their first visit to Calgary since the death of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau in August.
“There is just so much emotion going through your body,” said defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who acknowledged the Gaudreaus after he opened the scoring. “They know I love them, and me and my family will always be here for them. It was just very emotional scoring.”
The Flames have won six consecutive home games and are tied for second place in the league with 10 home wins.
Against Columbus, the Flames scored twice on the power play, giving them a man-advantage goal in seven of eight games, during which the Flames have converted nine of 23 opportunities.
Despite their offensive struggles — the Flames have three or fewer goals in regulation in 23 consecutive games — goaltending continues to be a strength. Rookie Dustin Wolf has received the most attention, but Dan Vladar posted his second shutout of the season against Columbus.
“Lots of emotions,” said Vladar, who wore a custom mask that featured the Gaudreau brothers. “That one, you kind of don’t really want to play hockey, but you remember Johnny and how he always wanted to play hockey with a smile on. This one’s for him.”
The quest is to build off the victory.
“It was a big must-win for us after a tough road trip coming home,” captain Mikael Backlund said. “We’ve been playing really well at home, and we got back to the way we know we can play. We have to keep that going.”
–Field Level Media
