Overview:
It wasn't the best game of all time, nor was it an overall performance that makes you think the Blues can rebound. However, this was the kind of win they needed.
It would have been nice, and a feel-good moment if you get some comfortable result like 4-1, but this is better for the players. They get the Utah monkey off their back for now and also gut out a win.
The relief on the faces of the players when St. Louis scored was palpable, especially with the top line. You could tell they had just been gripping the stick so tightly that it was like letting the water out of a balloon the moment before it was about to pop.
Sadly, this game only means a win in this game. The Blues could just as easily lose the next three games before the break and this was simply a blip.
Nevertheless, they had to stop the bleeding. You can't fire any more coaches and other than Kyrou, everyone else's trade stock had likely bottomed out.
They needed to win just to quiet the voices, real or imagined. Jim Montgomery was almost out of options outside of playing the fourth-line, top-line minutes.
This was the game they needed just to feel OK about themselves. You got good saves from your goalie, your top line scored the game-winning goal and they were decent, if not good, in all three phases of the game.
It only gets harder with Edmonton and Florida coming to town for the next two, but worry about those later. At least it's a win and a win that was earned.