Can Snuggerud, Dvorsky build off strong Thursday games for Blues, who are looking to snap six-game funk (0-4-2); Hofer gets start in goal against hot Blue Jackets, winners of three straight, five of six
A glimpse into the future was in full display for the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, and in a largely positive light, too, that will go into a Saturday matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets (6 p.m.; FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).
Jimmy Snuggerud, a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and Dalibor Dvorsky, a 2023 first-round pick, each played well for the Blues in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Snuggerud, who scored a beauty of a goal with that impressive shot of his that gave the Blues a 2-1 lead, was according to Blues coach Jim Montgomery, the team’s best forward in the game.
“His determination on pucks, his puck management, his habits in the D-zone, stopping and starting, had a good stick there and he was attacking the net, doing a lot of getting inside the dots offensively,” Montgomery said.
And for Dvorsky, who was called up from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, it was the most playing time in a game he’s had in his young and brief career (16:36), having only played three regular-season NHL games. But it was his most impactful, despite still searching for his first NHL point.
Dvorsky said keeping plays simple would allow him to get into the flow more frequently and better, and that’s exactly what he did.
“Yes he was,” Montgomery said. “I thought he had a very good game, very impactful. He was part of a bunch of opportunities that could have produced more. And I think the more comfortable he gets with the speed and pace of the NHL, with his skill set, he’s going to be able to put some of those chances away.”
Dvorsky had a couple strong chances to get on the board, one with a one-timer off the near post from the right circle as time was expiring in the first period on the power play, and a slot chance that required a solid save by Kevin Lankinen in the second period.
“When you have a weapon like his shot, not only is it hard and the release is exceptional, he’s got to use it as much as possible,” Montgomery said. “It’s the same thing we say to (Jordan) Kyrou, it’s the same thing we say to Snuggerud. Shooters should shoot.”
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The Blues (3-6-2), go into the matchup looking for their first win in two weeks having gone 0-4-2 their past six games. They face the Blue Jackets (6-4-0), who have won three straight and five of six.
“Their transition is really good,” Montgomery said of the Blue Jackets. “No. 8 (Zach Werenski) is probably, I don’t even know if you can call him a defenseman, he transitions so well into the offense. Sometimes he leads their 2-on-1s. And he doesn’t seem to get caught the other way. His timing seems to be impeccable almost like those elite forwards with how they end up with 2-on-1s all the time, they just seem to sniff when the turnover’s happening before everybody else does. And then they got a lot of young forwards with speed that make a lot of high-end plays off the rush, so we’re going to have to be really good in our transition on defense.”
How common is that where a defenseman consistently leads the charge in 2-on-1s?
“It’s not that common, but it’s becoming more and more common when you have the (Cale) Makars and the (Quinn) Hughes, Werenski,” Montgomery said. “There’s so many defensemen like that now in the league, and there are more and more that’s come in. The kid we played against in Calgary, (Zayne) Parekh and then you’ve go the No. 1 overall pick (Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders) that’s already had a seven-game point streak. It’s pretty amazing.”
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Pavel Buchnevich-Brayden Schenn-Jimmy Snuggerud
Mathieu Joseph-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jordan Kyrou
Dylan Holloway-Pius Suter-Oskar Sundqvist
Alexey Toropchenko-Nick Bjugstad-Nathan Walker
Philip Broberg-Colton Parayko
Cam Fowler-Justin Faulk
Tyler Tucker-Matthew Kessel
Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Alexandre Texier and Logan Mailloux. Robert Thomas (upper body) remains day to day. Jake Neighbours (leg) is on injured reserve.
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Blue Jackets Projected Lineup:
Dmitri Voronkov-Sean Monahan-Kirill Marchenko
Boone Jenner-Adam Fantilli-Kent Johnson
Cole Sillinger-Charlie Coyle-Mathieu Olivier
Miles Wood-Isac Lundestrom-Yegor Chinakhov
Zach Werenski-Denton Mateychuk
Ivan Provorov-Damon Severson
Dante Fabbro-Jake Christiansen
Jet Greaves will start in goal; Elvis Merzlikins will be the backup.
The healthy scratches include Zach Aston-Reese and Dysin Mayo. Erik Gudbranson (hip) is out.
Jim Montgomery On Two Veteran Blues Forwards: "I Want Them To Have More Of An Impact In The Game Offensively And Defensively"
Blues coach has lengthy post-practice conversation with Buchnevich, Kyrou; frustrations over six-game winless skid show in practice session prior to next game vs. Blue Jackets
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