The St. Louis Blues are doing well under their new coach, Jim Montgomery, and are in the playoff race. The Blues will try to keep their winning streak going when they play the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Since Montgomery became coach, the Blues have a record of 3-0-1, with their latest win being a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, which started their four-game road trip.
Montgomery was pleased with the team’s effort. “A five-guys-go mentality from our defensive zone to their net was really good from the start of the game,” he said. “I liked how it was wave after wave. Everybody was a huge part of that win.”
In the games since Montgomery took over, the Blues have outscored their opponents 14-5 in regulation and have killed 10 consecutive penalties.
Against the Jets, St. Louis scored two goals in the second period after successfully killing two penalties. Jordan Kyrou, who scored twice, and Dylan Holloway broke the scoreless tie and helped the Blues win. The Blues outshot Winnipeg 19-3 in that 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.”
Montgomery has also helped Holloway, who has scored four goals in three games and is on a four-game point streak, adding up to seven points in that stretch.
“It definitely feels good, but you can’t get complacent,” said Holloway, who is 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 play after a 3-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, which ended a four-game losing streak.
The game was emotional for the Flames, as it was the first time the family of the late Johnny Gaudreau was in Calgary since Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau passed away in August.
“There is just so much emotion going through your body,” said defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who 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 straight games at home and are tied for second place in the league with 10 home victories.
In the win over Columbus, the Flames scored twice on the power play, extending their streak to seven out of eight games with a power-play goal. During that stretch, they have scored on 9 of 23 opportunities.
Despite scoring struggles — the Flames have scored three or fewer goals in regulation in 23 straight games — their goaltending has remained strong. Rookie Dustin Wolf has earned attention, but Dan Vladar posted his second shutout of the season against Columbus.
“Lots of emotions,” said Vladar, who wore a custom mask with the Gaudreau brothers on it. “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 Flames are now focused on building on their win.
“It was a big must-win for us after a tough road trip coming home,” said captain Mikael Backlund. “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.”
