The St. Louis Blues were on the wrong end of a 6-1 walloping at the hands of the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.
The game had a historic flavor to it, as Capitals’ superstar Alexander Ovechkin notched his 900th NHL goal.
But history aside, the game was an awful revelation for the Blues. The disastrous second period culminated with Jordan Binnington getting chased. That was just the tip of the iceberg of a game that the Blues never really had a chance to win.
It wasn’t that the Blues couldn’t match the Capitals’ skill set. It was that the Blues seemingly didn’t want the game as much as they should have.
That situation has prompted me to see the same parallels between the Blues and the Boston Bruins prior to Jim Montgomery’s dismissal around this same time last season. The narrative surrounding Montgomery’s departure in Boston was that the club had simply quit on him. The Bruins stopped playing and did not push to win games anymore.
There was one game against the Ottawa Senators, in which the Bruins failed to get a shot on goal for the third period and on in overtime. The Bruins lost 3-2, managing just 16 shots throughout the game.
Things really fell apart for Montgomery after a 5-1 pounding, courtesy of the Columbus Blue Jackets at the TD Garden on November 18. The situation boiled over as Montgomery argued with players on the bench during the game, leading to his dismissal.
While things are not quite there yet in St. Louis, they seem to be trending in that direction. The Blues are a talented team, but they are somehow not putting forth their best efforts. Wednesday night’s game was a good example of that. Despite showing some life late in the game, it was too little, too late. The Blues at least managed 24 shots and one late goal, so there may be signs of hope still.
Blues may need major shakeup to spur a turnaround
The Bruins needed a massive shakeup last season. They fired Montgomery, and well, things didn’t really improve for Boston. They sank to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, prompting another coach to be hired during the summer.
The Blues, meanwhile, won’t be going through another coaching change this season. That was the card GM Doug Armstrong pulled last season by firing Drew Bannister and bringing in Montgomery.
But it seems that the new coach bump has worn off entirely. The Blues are not getting the most out of their lineup.
Be that as it may, does it mean that Jim Montgomery should be on the hot seat anyway? It’s a conversation worth having. At this point, we can infer that the players may not necessarily be the problem in St. Louis. Montgomery is gradually letting the team slip, and that’s on him.
If this trend continues, the Blues organization will need to have an uncomfortable conversation regarding their second-year coach. The time may have come for Jim Montgomery to land in the hot seat until he can turn things around.
The big question at this point will be: Do the Blues punt on the season and give Montgomery enough time to see if he can turn things around?
Or do the Blues make a major coaching change for the second year in a row in hopes of salvaging the season?
If the Blues feel that Montgomery is the problem, the coaching change may come soon enough. Otherwise, the Blues could let the season play out and cash in on valuable pieces at the trade deadline.