The St. Louis Blues returned to the ice for a game for the first time following the 2026 Olympic Games. For the second year in a row, it was weird to see the return of the NHL after international games since the league felt flat in comparison.
Nevertheless, the Blues came to play against the Seattle Kraken. The Blues came out quite well against Seattle and had the better of the play for the first half of the opening period.
St. Louis got the first goal of the game just before the eight-minute mark. Dylan Holloway, returning from his second injury stint, got the opening score, which was his ninth of the season.
Although St. Louis killed off a mid-period penalty, Seattle got on their toes and finished the period strong. Joel Hofer made an initial save through traffic, but the Kraken cashed in on a rebound to tie the game at 12:32 of the first. It remained tied into intermission. St. Louis was definitely more physical, outhitting the Kraken 14-2, but the Kraken had way more dangerous chances.
St. Louis utilized the intermission, though coming out hot in the second period. The middle frame was just 95 seconds old when the Blues had hit the back of the net two times.
Jordan Kyrou got the first goal on a nice setup from Pavel Buchnevich at 1:12. Almost immediately after the faceoff win, the Blues got another one with Holloway scoring on a poke for his second of the game.
It seemed as though the Kraken had cut the game to 3-2 when they scored on a pure luck play around the midpoint of the game. The Blues challenged it for offside and won, keeping the two-goal lead.
St. Louis finished the period strongly, coming up with another solid penalty kill. They took the 3-1 lead into intermission, having outshot the Kraken 14-8 in the second period alone.
For the second period in a row, the Blues scored in the first two minutes. Pius Suter scored on a one-timer from the slot after he got set up by Holloway, who had absorbed a big hip check just moments earlier.
Hofer was rarely challenged in the third as the Kraken just faded. They pulled the goaltender while on a power play, but the Blues accomplished a truly rare feat - they scored an empty net goal and also got their first hat trick of the season when Holloway got his second career hatty with the Blues and earned a 5-1 win.
Pro: Holloway
Credit to the entire line of Suter, Holloway, and Jonaten Berggren for contributing a nine-point night for the Blues. Still, the focus had to be on Holloway himself.
Of course, the three goals and four points speak for themselves. When the man and team were both still a little worried about an ankle injury, Holloway proved he was more than ready to hit the ice again.
He came out like a man possessed. Not only did he end the night with three goals, but he also saved a goal fairly early in the game that could have swung the momentum the other direction.
Holloway earned time in many different spots, trailing only Buchnevich for ice time among forwards.
Con: Chances given up
Although the Blues locked things down as the game went on, they were far too lax in the first period. St. Louis needed to rely on Hofer to keep them in the game in the second half of the first.
The Blues may have only allowed 10 shots on goal, but they also allowed double-digit high danger chances in the first too. So, if not for blocks and some misses, the Kraken could have either had more shots or another goal.
It's good that Hofer was sharp and the defense calmed down while also playing on their toes. You don't want to rely on those things though as other teams might take better advantage.
Pro: Offensive mindset
Similar to what we saw coming out of the Four Nations tournament, the defense was much more engaged in the offense for the Blues in this game. It wasn't just the defense, but the defenders making good decisions on the offensive end definitely helped.
The Blues ended the game with 32 shots, which feels like the most they've had in ages. They only had seven in the third period as well, which shows that they were getting plenty of pucks through earlier in the game.
Switching focus back to the blue liners, St. Louis had four shots from Logan Mailloux, three from Cam Fowler and two from Justin Faulk. 11 of the 32 shots were from defenders and, oddly enough, only Colton Parayko didn't hit the target.
This is the smart offense we've been wanting to see from the Blues all season.
Overview:
This was the kind of win Blues fans needed. Not only did it gain you two points, but it had to envigorate the fan base.
Honestly, I wasn't that excited for the return of the Blues, nor the NHL in general. The downfall of these international tournaments is that all the games have such excitement that it really shows how dull the regular season can be at times.
Would you rather watch a thrilling overtime game with some of the best players in the world or a game where one team only gets four shots in one period? For two years in a row, we've had those post-break blues.
Fortunately, both times, the Blues came out much better on the other side. While it is even less likely they make the playoffs this time around, seeing smart hockey was a fantastic step in the right direction.
The Blues played with passion and energy, which was sorely lacking in the first two thirds of the season. Now, they managed to give us a little hope.
Even if the Blues miss the postseason, it would be nice to see them go on a bit of a run. It would be nice to be excited about our team again, and this win against Seattle was a good step towards that.