The St. Louis Blues were attempting to get back on the winning side of things after a less-than-stellar effort against the Edmonton Oilers. From a pessimist's point of view, they had a lot going against them.
Thatcher Demko was returning for the first game since April. Often when that happens, the Blues run into a brick wall.
Additionally, the Canucks have not been a good home team at all. We've seen plenty of examples of the Blues not taking advantage of that.
Although St. Louis had a good start to the game, they allowed the first goal of the game. That was something else the Canucks had not done much of this season.
Just like the Edmonton game, the Blues had an awkward line change with Ryan Suter coming on flat-footed. This allowed a two-on-one and Dakota Joshua connected on the back door play for a 1-0 lead.
The Blues only took 1:11 to tie it, however. The Blues got it back in front from the left corner and Zach Bolduc whizzed one past the goalie before he knew what happened and it was 1-1.
St. Louis took a late penalty in the first but came out on top. The Blues got a shorthanded goal off a Robert Thomas breakaway, with the center snapping a shot under the blocker for a 2-1 lead.
St. Louis was gifted a power play on a phantom tripping call, but they took advantage. Jordan Kyrou scored on a circle-to-circle one-timer for a 3-1 lead.
The refs made an immediate makeup call when Brayden Schenn got called for holding. The Canucks got stoned several times by Joel Hofer, but St. Louis' inability to clear the puck coupled with no stick for Hofer and a broken stick for Pavel Buchnevich led to the Vancouver power-play goal.
It stayed 3-2 all the way until the final two minutes, but the pressure just became too much. With the Blues failing to convert on a two-on-none, the Canucks eventually pulled the goalie and tied the game.
The Blues shrugged off the disappointing end to regulation and eventually won in overtime. Robert Thomas came out of the zone with speed and fed Dylan Holloway up the right wing. The lefty cut in from the wall and scooped a shot to the short side, over the glove hand and St. Louis won 4-3.
Pro: Holloway
You score a game-winning goal and it's pretty easy to get player of the game. However, it wasn't just that goal. That goal was more a reward for how he had played all game long.
Holloway got things rolling for himself with a nice assist on Bolduc's goal. He made a smart play, pilfering the goalie's pass up the wall, drew the defense to him, and then found an open Bolduc.
Holloway finished the game with five shots, four blocks, two hits, and two big points. He factored into the Blues first goal and last goal, giving him a nice bookend.
Con: Refs
It can't be said that the officials were biased one way or the other. The calls were pretty even for both sides.
The problem was the calls were just stupid. The call on Brock Boeser was completely made up. I'm not sure if he touched Colton Parayko at all and that leads to a power play goal.
Right after that, the refs make up a holding call on Schenn. You can argue about whether it's a penalty, but Schenn just draped his arm over the other guy's shoulder and he goes off balance. It's not a hold.
Oskar Sundqvist gets called for a trip in the third and it's another call made just because someone went down. There was an argument to make for a holding call, but there was nothing even close a trip. Hockey may be one of the hardest sports to officiate, but they've relied far too much on guessing and making up a call once they get to the box.
Pro: Hofer
This was one of those games where the saves might not have been plentiful, but they were impactful. The Canucks finished the game with 25 shots but had only 19 until the final three minutes or so.
Despite that, they had some grade-A chances. Hofer made a sprawling save with the pad to deny an early chance before the Canucks eventually cycled back around for their power-play goal.
He also stopped some breakaways and odd-man rushes too. Of course, Blues fans will ruin it by starting a non-existent goalie controversy.
Regardless, the Blues have two goalies that can bail them out of a lot of jams and have.
Overview:
These are the kinds of games that will turn doubters, like myself, around about the coaching change. Make no mistake, I never had any issue with Jim Montgomery. I simply did not like removing two coaches who demanded a lot from their players and expecting things to be different for a third.
While there are still plenty of mistakes, we are seeing a different team. Right now, we're seeing the team that those of us who were hopeful at the start of the season thought we'd see.
It's a team capable of beating anyone and competing every single night. They don't have the skill to get away with all their mistakes, but if and when they show their will, they can come back from them.
The special teams did a pretty good job in this game. You go 1/2 on the power play and kill two of three on the penalty kill. If the Blues clear the puck from the zone and get two players their sticks, I think they will make Vancouver go 0/3, but that's conjecture.
St. Louis is finally getting their top six to step up on a consistent basis. Holloway isn't someone I'd have expected to be a big goal scorer, but he's currently tied for the team lead.
Joining him with 10 goals is Kyrou. He'll always have detractors, but if he keeps the goalless streaks to a lower number, we're seeing a revitalized player and more confident player.
In the grand scheme of things, the Blues can't keep the see-saw going. Eventually, you have to get a few games above .500 and put some pressure on teams like Colorado and Dallas.
But, they're on the right track. The win in Vancouver gets them within two points of Colorado with a game in hand and the Blues are winners of five of the last seven.
They've got winnable games in the next week or two as well. Maybe they'll be able to string together some good play and victories before 2024 is out.