While the St. Louis Blues have improved under Jim Montgomery, they have a recent history of playing down to their competition and not playing well at home. Would things change against the San Jose Sharks?
It did not seem so. The first four minutes belonged completely to the Sharks.
They outshot the Blues 4-0 and led the game 1-0. The goal came when the Sharks got a rebound, Jordan Binnington made an initial pad save but could not find the puck and the defense couldn't clear. The Sharks slid the loose puck under his right leg.
St. Louis seemed to be doing nothing but absorbing pressure. Because of this, and a hit he took exception to, Nathan Walker tried to change the course by getting in a fight.
St. Louis did have a great shift after that but only managed one shot due to two blocks by former Blues player Klim Kostin. At least they woke up a little.
Thankfully, the Blues made the most out of very little. While they only managed four shots on goal in the first period, they did tie the game.
Jake Neighbours cut down the left wing, did a toe drag around the defender, and sniped one past the glove side. Neighbours could have given it right back, taking a penalty with about three minutes left in the period, but the team stepped up and killed it so the game remained tied going to intermission.
The opening of the second was slightly dull. The Blues failed even to get a shot off on a power play, though they did generate a good shot not long after with a Mathieu Joseph wrap-around.
The Sharks would end up scoring their second goal off just their second shot of the period. It was mostly a lucky play since Colton Parayko made the block on a cross-ice pass, but the puck went right back to Macklin Celebrini who shot it past a suddenly out-of-position Binnington. Binnington had to play the pass as though it would go through, so there wasn't anything to do.
The Blues continued to have their mistakes cost them. The referees made up a double minor against Dylan Holloway late in the second period and the Sharks scored on the ensuing power play. Binnington made several good saves, but St. Louis couldn't clear the puck and Celebrini roofed a shot from the left dot for a 3-1 score.
The game remained a two-goal difference for a good chunk of the third period too. St. Louis just wasn't generating much, but at least they kept themselves alive.
Brayden Schenn gave the fans some hope when he cashed in on a backdoor rebound. The captain's goal made it 3-2 with about 15 minutes left in the period.
Unfortunately, the good vibes didn't last long. Another former Blues player, Jake Walman, tapped the puck into an empty net less than 30 seconds later as the Blues got caught up ice and it resulted in a two-on-one the other way.
They finally gave another jolt to the home crowd with a Jordan Kyrou goal almost eight minutes in. Robert Thomas found Pavel Buchnevich in front, but with a defender on his back, Buch tapped it to the open Kyrou who quickly disposed of the puck into the net.
St. Louis came to life after that. They had two shifts of big pressure but did not find the tying goal.
Buchnevich had a grade-A chance in the final seconds, but the shot glanced off the goalie's stick and the goalpost. San Jose won by a final of 4-3
Con: Goals against
This is the NHL. These players for the Sharks belong in the league and every team has players that are capable of scoring against the best teams, which the Blues are not.
Nevertheless, you simply cannot find yourself allowing four goals and being down by two goals twice against the second worst team in the Pacific Division. The Blues actually had two previous wins over the Sharks this season, but this was much more reminiscent of the last couple of years when San Jose owned the Blues.
There wasn't even one thing to blame. The goaltending wasn't great on some of the goals, the defense was a little flat-footed once or twice and you gave up a horrendous odd-man rush just moments after getting yourself back in the game.
Pro: Upper players continue to rise
One of the biggest complaints in the 2024-25 season is that the Blues top players have often not been their top players. While fans can often be overly critical, the reality is that the top guns haven't stepped up enough.
While the team lost, the offense was at least guided by the guys you need to come up big. Neighbours had a two-point evening and got the scoring started with a nifty drag move.
It's hard to say if Schenn has lost a step overall or if he's trying to do too much elsewhere, but the captain scored his fifth of the season. Although we all want even more, Kyrou reclaimed the top spot for goals on the Blues and it came in an important spot, bringing them within one with plenty of time left.
Schenn had four shots while Kyrou and Neighbours added two apiece. St. Louis probably still needs another high-end scorer to be competitive offensively, but at least in this game, they had their current leaders come up.
Overview:
This game was just disappointing overall. It was not a step back, but it was a reminder that this team has plenty wrong.
You're playing the team that has allowed the most goals in the conference and second most in the league and muster four shots in the first period? Why is this team never prepared to come out hot and bury an opponent in the first 10 minutes, let alone the first period overall?
The team's performance seems to be affecting their goaltender. Binnington continues to make gigantic saves to keep his team in games, but he didn't look very comfortable on a few occasions too.
The defense is better this year and should be better once Nick Leddy comes back as well. But, as a team, they are still too loose and put themselves in unwinnable situations.
I suppose we shouldn't get too hard on the Blues for the goals against since the Sharks have more goals on the year than St. Louis and several teams in the conference. It's just frustrating to get owned by a team that is worse than yours.
The Blues home record continues to plummet too. Even Monty hasn't been able to fix that, though he's only had two chances.
They're 5-7-1 on home ice and have repeatedly scored two or fewer goals while allowing two or more a lot. That's not a vast difference, which leads to these close games, but you need to win those.
The team even admitted part of their success on the road trip was getting three goals early and letting themselves find a way to hold on. It's a completely different style and mindset when you're down 3-1 and 4-2.
St. Louis doesn't have time to sulk. They travel to Dallas next and you absolutely have to start winning games in the conference and division. It's all well and good to get points against the East, but you need to beat the teams you're directly competing with for potential playoff spots.
The Blues play up and down to competition, so perhaps they'll have their A-game against the Stars on the road.