St. Louis Blues coach Jim Montgomery hopes his team can learn from playing top NHL teams as they work on bringing back a winning culture.
The Blues will look to apply what they learned from their 3-2 losses to the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers this week when they play the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.
St. Louis took Edmonton to overtime before losing 3-2 on Tuesday, and then lost to Florida 3-2 on Thursday when the Panthers scored a goal with 12 seconds left in the game.
“That’s a (Panthers) team that’s won the Stanley Cup, went to the Stanley Cup Final, they know who they are,” Montgomery said. “They know how they want to play. Pucks go to the goal line, they get in on the forecheck, they get heavy, and they’re just relentless. It’s over and over and over. Really good at it.
“We have to establish that kind of regularity with our identity.”
By losing the first two games of their three-game homestand before the NHL break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Blues are now 11-14-2 at home this season. They are 1-5-1 in their last seven games.
Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist found some comfort in the fact that his team made the Oilers and Panthers work hard for their wins.
“We’re playing two of the best teams in the league, and I think we’re playing two good hockey games against them,” Sundqvist said. “If we come out of that second period (Thursday) a goal or two up, it can be a whole different game.
“We take with us that we were playing two really good hockey teams, and we’re right there. We just need that last percent to tip it over to wins.”
The Blackhawks are 3-6-4 in their last 13 games. They are coming to St. Louis after a 6-2 home win against the Nashville Predators on Friday.
Chicago’s point leader, Connor Bedard, had a goal and an assist against Nashville, giving him nine goals and 13 assists in his last 21 games.
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)“There’s a lot of pressure on him in general, but I think he puts more pressure on himself than anybody,” said Blackhawks interim coach Anders Sorensen. “So I think he’s handling it terrifically.”
Bedard believes his overall game is improving in his second NHL season.
“Maybe the biggest thing is, stick battles and stuff, I feel pretty good in that area, whether it’s on the forecheck or in my own end or whatever,” Bedard said. “It’s something I worked on a lot over the summer and I feel like I’ve progressed.
“As the year goes on, maybe I can win more battles. I’ll try to keep building on that.”
Chicago forward Jason Dickinson missed Friday’s game due to an ankle sprain he got on Wednesday and will also miss Saturday’s game.
Since Petr Mrazek started in goal on Friday, the Blackhawks will likely start Arvid Soderblom against the Blues. Mrazek gave up six goals on 28 shots when the Blackhawks lost to the Blues 6-2 on Dec. 31 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
The Blues got strong production from defensemen Cam Fowler (two goals) and Justin Faulk (one goal, two assists) in that outdoor game.
St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped 28 of 30 shots to win that game, and he will likely start again on Saturday before joining Team Canada for the 4 Nations event.
