St. Louis Blues: What To Watch For Game 5 at Montreal
By Jason Martin
The St. Louis Blues made a lot of history last season, and they could make history again this year with a point against the Montreal Canadiens as the road trip continues.
The St. Louis Blues are coming off a wacky game in Ottawa just a few days ago in which they had to come from behind several times to beat a terrible Senators team. However, a win is a win, and the team’s strong start is continuing.
Jake Allen was shaky in goal last game against the Senators, but that is to be expected with the amount of rest he had before his first start of the year. The Blues starting Jordan Binnington tonight does not have any relevance to how Allen played on Thursday.
Opponents 2019-20 record
1-1-2
The Canadiens have had a bizarre start to their 2019-20 campaign. They have earned points in all but one game so far this season, but they have to be feeling like they could have earned a lot more heading into their matchup with St. Louis. The Habs have a shootout loss to Carolina and an overtime loss to Buffalo, and if they can take care of business in regulation, Montreal could be a dangerous team.
Blues all-time record vs. Montreal
37-74-22-1
The fact that Montreal has dominated the history between these two teams should not come as a surprise to anyone. Despite reaching the Stanley Cup Final in the first three years of existence, Montreal has been a bonafide juggernaut throughout their entire history.
Players To Watch
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Binnington vs. Carey Price
The argument could be made that these are two of the best goalies in the league right now and hockey fans will be able to witness a great matchup in goal tonight. Price’s numbers are not what they used to be, but he is still an all-star every year and had his Montreal team on the outskirts of the playoffs a year ago.
Fabbri is off to yet another slow start this season, and he is running out of time to turn his career around. The young forward saw flashes of his old self in training camp, but to open the season, he has not been good.
He does have a safety blanket in the name of Robert Thomas, but when Thomas gets healthy and reinserted into the lineup, it’s either Fabbri or Zach Sanford coming out.
Special Teams
The penalty kill and the powerplay have been underwhelming so far to start the season, and they have an incredibly unnerving stat that jumps off the page. The Blues have allowed as many shorthanded goals as powerplay goals.
Something has to change, and we are getting our first look at that change tonight as Sammy Blais is replacing Fabbri on the second powerplay unit. Blais was placed in Pat Maroon‘s spot right in front of the net, which should provide some offensive spark.
dark. Next. Lost In The Cards, Blues Off To Perfect Start
Jason’s Take
It’s hard to complain about anything that is going on with the Blues, especially when they keep winning games like they are. There are some small areas I would like to see them clean up, but hey, it’s only October 12.