ST. LOUIS — Earlier this season, the St. Louis Blues went 2-0 against the San Jose Sharks under coach Drew Bannister, with a come-from-behind overtime victory and a shootout win.
Still, when Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky spoke before Thursday’s third matchup, he said he’d already seen steps forward from the Blues in the games he’d pre-scouted since Jim Montgomery took over from Bannister.
“They seem more connected,” Warsofsky said. “Obviously, they’re starting to have success and the confidence has risen. And their best players are playing some really good hockey. So it’s going to be a tough challenge.”
It wound up not being as tough as Warsofsky expected, as San Jose’s No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini netted two goals in the 4-3 victory. And as much as Celebrini impressed, the Blues’ lack of connection disappointed.
“Very, very sloppy,” Montgomery said of his team’s puck play.
It was a reminder that despite a 3-0-1 record on their recent trip through western Canada and a 5-2-1 mark under Montgomery, this will continue to be a process.
“Expectations are high, and he knows how all of us can play when we’re at our best,” Blues defenseman Ryan Suter said. “That’s his big thing, pushing guys. He knows who he’s got to push and who he’s got to nurture.
“Everyone is obviously buying in. Young guys are open-eyed to him, and old guys respect him. I think it’s finally starting to catch on for us. It’s exciting, and when we put it together, it’s fun to be a part of.”
With the Blues in the midst of a stretch of seven games in 12 days, which could swing their playoff hopes, let’s take a look at what’s already changing — and how it’s working. Here are five areas of focus under Montgomery so far.
Getting the most out of top players
One benefit of hiring Montgomery was that as a former Blues assistant, he had preexisting relationships with Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich and had helped them reach new levels earlier in their career.
How’s he doing in maximizing them now?
Here’s how many points per 60 minutes (all strengths) Kyrou, Thomas and Buchnevich have scored under Bannister versus under Montgomery, per Natural Stat Trick.
| Player | Bannister | Montgomery |
|---|---|---|
|
2.69 |
2.97 |
|
|
2.58 |
3.92 |
|
|
1.87 |
3.36 |
The biggest jump has been from Buchnevich, who had an assist Thursday to extend his point streak to seven games (two goals, five assists). That’s perhaps attributable to two things: 1) He’s back at wing, and 2) Playing wing allows him to be on Thomas’ line, along with Kyrou at times.
“Buchnevich is a winger, to me,” Montgomery said recently.
After missing a month with a fractured ankle, Thomas has four goals and 14 points in 11 games back — and four and 11 in eight games under Montgomery.
“It took me a couple games to get the flow back,” Thomas said. “I’m feeling good now.”
Montgomery said he sees more maturity in Thomas’ game than he did when he was on staff from 2020 to ’22.
“The way he analyzes things now is about the team and how he can help the team, whereas the last time I was here, it was about him establishing himself in the league,” Montgomery said. “I think he knows what he is, and I think he knows how important he is to the team’s success, and his mindset is driving the team.”
Kyrou’s production also has increased, including a big bump on the power play from 3.45 points per 60 to 7.75.
“When he’s skating, things happen for him,” Montgomery said. “The puck follows him around the ice. I didn’t think in the first four games I was here that he was skating. But (against Vancouver), you really started to see him buzz. When he’s buzzing in the offensive zone, good things happen.”
Limiting odd-man rushes
The Blues gave up four odd-man rushes Thursday, and the Sharks scored on two.
The first came in the second period. The puck was in the Blues’ offensive zone, and Suter attempted to make the type of play that Mongomery wants — pinch along the boards to keep the puck in.
But when Suter did that, the team didn’t have enough forwards back. The Sharks quickly moved it up ice, with Colton Parayko left to fend for himself against Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli.
“Our forwards have got to get above,” Montgomery said. “The forward that’s responsible for replacing the D, when the puck gets stopped, he’s stopping and San Jose’s forwards get in behind him. Now, we don’t win the battle for the loose puck, they pop it by us and now they have a two-on-one.”
When Suter pinched, Blues center Oskar Sundqvist was tracking back. Dylan Holloway was at the blue line watching the development but couldn’t do anything against the quick-up to Celebrini after the puck popped out.
It happened again in the third period.
In a similar situation, defenseman P.O. Joseph pinched to keep the puck in. But when he did, both Brandon Saad and Holloway again were under the puck. That allowed Nikolai Kovalenko and former Blue Jake Walman to go on a two-on-one against Matthew Kessel, and Walman gave his team a 4-2 lead.
“Everyone just has to read off each other,” Suter said. “It’s such a fast-paced game, if you take a second off, it’ll cost you.”
Here’s how many odd-man rushes the Blues and their opponents have had in the past six games:
| Game | Result | Blues | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Nov. 30 vs. Flyers |
3-2 OTL |
4 |
7 |
|
Dec. 3 at Jets |
4-1 W |
1 |
3 |
|
Dec. 5 at Flames |
4-3 OTW |
1 |
1 |
|
Dec. 7 at Oilers |
4-2 L |
1 |
1 |
|
Dec. 10 at Canucks |
4-3 OTW |
6 |
2 |
|
Dec. 12 vs. Sharks |
4-3 L |
2 |
4 |
You can also see how much it has cost the Blues. They gave up seven to Philadelphia and lost 3-2 in OT. They gave up a total of seven in their next four games against Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver and went 3-1. Then they gave up four against San Jose and fell by one goal.
Not giving up goals after scoring
Walman’s goal was also another that was netted on the Blues shortly after they had scored themselves.
Brayden Schenn cut the Blues’ deficit to 3-2 early in the third period. But before public-address announcer Tom Calhoun had even finished announcing Schenn’s name, the Sharks restored their two-goal cushion.
Looking for offense in the third period, Montgomery mixed up the forward combinations and reunited the Buchnevich-Thomas-Kyrou line. They were on the ice before the line of Schenn, Jake Neighbours and Zack Bolduc came out and scored.
The shift after the goal, Montgomery sent out the newly formed third line of Brandon Saad, Oskar Sundqvist and Dylan Holloway. They have now been on the ice for 2:52 together at five-on-five this season and have been outscored 2-0.
“That’s something we need to correct,” Schenn said. “When you go out and score a goal, the next line up, whoever it may be, you have to go out and sustain energy or sustain momentum.”
And it’s become a trend. That goal was the fifth time it’s happened in the past seven games:
• Nov. 30 vs. Flyers: Holloway tied it 1-1 in the third, and the Flyers took a 2-1 lead 51 seconds later.
• Dec. 5 at Flames (twice): Thomas gave the Blues a 2-0 lead in the first, and the Flames scored 15 seconds later. Then Buchnevich made it 3-2 in the third, and the Flames scored 1:06 later.
• Dec. 7 at Oilers: After Neighbours trimmed the score to 3-2 in the third, the Oilers scored 1:09 later.
That SJ response goal is the 5th time in #stlblues last 7 games they’ve given up a goal :90 or less following them scoring a goal
:51 vs PHI
:25 & 1:06 vs CGY
1:09 vs EDM
:27 vs SJ— Alex Ferrario (@Ferrario101ESPN) December 13, 2024
Rewarding Holloway … and balancing lines
Holloway’s point streak ended at seven games (six goals, 11 points) on Thursday.
Asked if Holloway was getting a big head, perhaps even calling himself “Hollywood,” Thomas replied: “He’s feeling good right now, so he can call himself whatever he wants.”
Holloway’s production had some wondering why he’s been playing on the third line with Sundqvist and Bolduc, while Saad started Thursday on the second line with Schenn and Kyrou.
The answer is that the Blues are trying to balance the lines, and as mentioned above, Saad playing with Sundqvist is not ideal. The stat that matters most is ice time, though, and Holloway is getting that.
Since Montgomery took over, he is up from 15:15 to 16:27, while Saad is down from 15:30 to 13:44. At even strength, Holloway got 14:26 against San Jose, Saad 10:06.
It’s getting harder to justify seeing Saad in the lineup — or still on the Blues’ roster past the trade deadline, assuming there’s interest around the league. He has no goals and two points in his past 13 games and four goals and 10 points in 27 games overall. Those goals were via two two-goal games, so he’s scored in just two of 27 games.
“Since I got here, he’s been getting better and better with his habits and details and how he’s impacting the game without the puck,” Montgomery said. “I talked him before last game and I was like, ‘You’ve got to start owning the middle of the ice, getting to dangerous areas.’ He’s too good of a player to not have as many scoring chances as I believe he can have for our team and start finishing.”
Figuring out the D pairs
The Blues’ top defensive pair in Vancouver was Philip Broberg and Parayko, but Thursday they started out with Suter-Parayko and Broberg-Justin Faulk before reuniting Broberg-Paryako in the third.
According to HockeyViz, when Broberg is paired with Faulk, the Blues generate just 2.08 expected goals per 60 at five-on-five. When Broberg’s with anyone else, it’s 3.37.
Defensively, there’s not a drastic difference. With the two together, the Blues give up 2.65 expected goals against per 60 at five-on-five. When Faulk is without Broberg, that number is slightly lower, and when Broberg is without Faulk it’s slightly higher.
One factor that must be mentioned is that when Faulk plays without Broberg, Thomas isn’t on the ice much (36 minutes). Broberg without Faulk does get key minutes with the team’s top defensive center.
Here’s a heat map that shows the offense against (increased red) in the defensive zone when Broberg is with Faulk.
So it appears that Broberg-Parayko would be preferred from an offensive standpoint, but the Blues are also focused on balancing the pairs and matching up against opponents, as Montgomery referenced regarding the defensive lineup against Edmonton.
It might be a game-to-game decision and might even change in-game like it did Thursday. But needing to be cognizant of what works and what doesn’t, Montgomery and the Blues now have the numbers to support what they decide.
(Top photo: Elsa / Getty Images)
