The St. Louis Blues lost their first game of a New York-area road trip, fell to three games under .500 and 3-6-1 in their last 10 games. So, the big news over the weekend was firing Drew Bannister and hiring Jim Montgomery.
You always hope a new coach will get that post-change bump from his team. The Blues got off to a less than stellar start.
In the first half of the first period, the Blues took two penalties, disrupting any kind of flow or rhythm they hoped to get with their offensive lines. The penalty kill did its job, but it wasn't a geat beginning.
St. Louis surrendered the first goal of the game, yet again. It was a weak shot from the left point that somehow got through and went off the skate of Will Cuylle, who was tied up with Scott Perunovich in front. It was a fine example of the luck the Blues have had this year.
Fortunately, regardless of the coach, the hallmark of this current team has been resiliency. St. Louis got back to work and tied the game about three minutes later. Brayden Schenn stole the puck on the forecheck, Jordan Kyrou managed to backstep just a bit to create some space in the slot and he wristed a one-timer to make it 1-1.
The Blues came out well in the second period. They were active early and got the lead 4:30 into the frame. Zach Bolduc got his first of the season when he crashed the net and popped home a loose puck with the goaltender on his belly.
The lead only lasted about three minutes. Cuylle got his second of the game after Matt Kessell got outmuscled in the far corner. The Rangers cycled the puck behind the net and then the Blues own defender knocked Joel Hofer's stick loose, allowing the Blueshirts to bang it in for a 2-2 game.
St. Louis peppered the net, but the game went into intermission tied. However, it didn't take long to change that.
The Blues sprang Brayden Schenn on a break up the left wing. He snapped home his fourth of the season from the left circle, where he's struck for two overtime winners and now this one to make it 3-2.
St. Louis didn't let their foot off the gas. At 8:25, Bolduc got his second to make it 4-2. He was strong on the puck during a puck battle in the near corner and that led to a shot from the point. Bolduc had gone to the front of the net and roofed in the loose puck.
St. Louis was relentless on the offensive end. They pressured the Rangers, coming up with a turnover and a two-on-one with about three minutes left. Sadly, they couldn't get a goal for the former Ranger Pavel Buchnevich on that occasion, who clanged one off the post.
However, they did get him one with 2:45 to go. The Blues won the faceoff in their own zone and Oskar Sundqvist fed it to Buch for the empty net goal and a 5-2 win.
Pro: Offense
This team has been far too inconsistent to think this one game means anything going forward in terms of sustainability. However, it was nice to see the Blues fire shots in number and with purpose.
St. Louis ended the game with a season high in shots, hitting the target 43 times. Their previous high was 40 in the second game of the season against San Jose.
On top of that, you score four goals against one of the better goaltenders in the league and get five goals overall. That's quite often the result of high shot totals that are actually from good areas on the ice.
Con: Penalties
You can stomach it because the penalty kill was perfect on the night. You can't give teams power play opportunities at the points in the game where the Blues do though.
St. Louis took two penalties in the first seven minutes of the first period. The first one against Sundqvist not only came just 2:29 in, but happened in the offensive zone. Yes, his stick was just in a poor area that led to the trip, but you've got to realize the situation and try to reach around if possible.
Bolduc's trip wasn't even a trip, but it was still a penalty. The third penalty, Bolduc's second, was iffy just because those plays happen 50 times a game, but you need to know that one cross check might slip by, but you can't do it again two seconds later.
Pro: Zack Bolduc
Penalties aside, this was probably Bolduc's best game of the season. Not only did he get two goals, but he was getting to the front of the net.
He appeared to deflect the puck before getting the rebound for his second, but even if he didn't, he was in position to do so. He was crashing the net on the first one too, which is what you need from a potential NHL center in the future.
Honestly, it was a shame he didn't end the game with the hat trick and not because it just would have been nice. Bolduc led the team with seven shots, so he would have earned it if it happened.
Pro: Joel Hofer
When you outshoot your opponent, it can be easy to overlook your own goaltending. 29 shots doesn't seem like he was under seige that often.
If you watched the game, you know differently. The Rangers had 14 shots in the first period and several were from dangerous spots.
While they may not have come incredibly often, Hofer came up with big saves throughout the game, especially early in the game. That seemed to deflate New York and let the Blues overcome their early penalty problems.
Overview
As a fan, I'm extremely happy with this win. This is much more like what we expected from this team when the season began.
What I'm not looking forward to is the immediate, knee-jerk reaction to the coaching change. There will, of course, be fools on social media gloating about how much of an immediate impact Montgomery had.
There is little doubt that Montgomery probably had a pregame focus on shot quantity and getting pressure on the opponent. However, the last two coaches wanted more offense too and some nights it just didn't happen.
So, let's pump the breaks on this being anything but a one game performance. For all we know, the Blues have 15 shots and lose against the New Jersey Devils.
Nobody wants that, but until we see different, we can't say this was more than just one good game. Focusing on the game itself, it was a very good game.
The Blues did all the little things they've needed to do for weeks. They got shots on goal from the center third of the ice.
They defended well and limited the number of opportunities for the Rangers. Hofer had to make several quality saves, but you have goalies that are capable of making good stops, so just don't allow your opponent to have unstoppable chances and you'll be alright.
St. Louis still wasn't very good on faceoffs, but you'll take almost 44% rather than something in the 30's like last game. The Blues had too many giveaways, but they forced almost as many as they had, so it ended up being a moot point.
It was cool, if only coincidental, that Montgomery got his first win as a Blues player against the same team he scored his first goal against. Sports is poetic in that way.
Let's all just be happy for the win and judge the coaching change in about a month. It was a fine win.