Blues look to begin four-game Canadian trip by extending point streak to four under Montgomery; Holloway looks to stay hot; Buchnevich will miss another game; Hofer starts
Jim Montgomery stepped into his media availability on Sunday and was asked about Dylan Holloway.
He noticed noises in the background, the sounds of pucks being shot in a practice area back towards the locker room and said, "I think I hear someone shooting pucks right now, I bet it's him."
Sure enough, it was Holloway working on his craft, and why wouldn't he be, with the way things have gone for the St. Louis Blues forward since the coaching change from Drew Bannister to Montgomery on Nov. 24.
Holloway has probably benefited most from the coaching change, with ice time and with production. He's on a three-game point streak (three goals, two assists)
"The whole year, I'm just trying to play to my strengths, stay confident," Holloway said. "I think confidence is a big thing. That's part of my game is to be able to chip in offensively. Having 'Monty' is great; he's been great so far. Really dialing in on our systems. He's more of a teacher, which is great. I feel like we're learning as a team how to play the system. It's been great.
"Any time you've a young team making their way in the NHL, you've got to make sure everybody's dialed in on the same page. That's one thing 'Monty' does for sure. ... I really enjoy the opportunity I've been given, but at the same time, that can be taken away just as fast if I'm not playing well or I'm making dumb decisions on the ice. I still got to just keep focusing on my game and take it one game at a time."
One thing Montgomery has learned about Holloway is, "how much he loves the game of hockey. He's a hockey player."
And that grows on any coach.
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Joel Hofer gets the nod in goal for the Blues (11-12-2) today when they begin a four-game Canada swing against the Winnipeg Jets (18-7-0), who have lost three straight and four of five (1-4-0). Puck drop is at 7 p.m. (FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).
Hofer last played in Montgomery's debut, a 5-2 win against the New York Rangers on Nov. 25 and made 27 saves in that game.
The Blues made changes in their lineup later in the game Saturday and will keep a good portion of that group together, including playing Holloway with Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou; Alexandre Texier comes out and Nathan Walker comes back in on the 'WTF Line;' and Brandon Saad will play with Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours.
Philip Broberg, who returned Saturday after missing 12 games with a right knee injury, will play with Colton Parayko and Ryan Suter will play with Matthew Kessel. That's because Justin Faulk (upper-body injury) was a late scratch and Scott Perunovich, who was down with a bit of the bug and did not skate, will slot in with Pierre-Olivier Joseph.
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Brandon Saad-Robert Thomas-Jake Neighbours
Dylan Holloway-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou
Mathieu Joseph-Oskar Sundqvist-Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko-Radek Faksa-Nathan Walker
Philip Broberg-Colton Parayko
Ryan Suter-Matthew Kessel
Pierre-Olivier Joseph-Scott Perunovich
Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Alexandre Texier and Scott Perunovich. Nick Leddy (lower body), Pavel Buchnevich (lower body) and Justin Faulk (upper body) are out.
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Jets Projected Lineup:
Kyle Connor-Vladislav Namestnikov-Mark Scheifele
Cole Perfetti-Brad Lambert-Gabriel Vilardi
Nino Niederreiter-Adam Lowry-Mason Appleton
Morgan Barron-Rasmus Kupari-Alex Iafallo
Josh Morrissey-Dylan DeMelo
Haydn Fleury-Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley-Ville Heinola
Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal; Eric Comrie will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Colin Miller, Dylan Coghlan and David Gustafsson. Nikolaj Ehlers (lower body) and Dylan Samberg (foot) are out.
