ST. LOUIS -- Could the Drew Bannister train keep on rolling?
It's one thing to win a game in the first game for a new coach, which the Blues did on Thursday, but could they keep it going, especially against a solid squad in the Dallas Stars? The St. Louis Blues did.
They had a slow start to the game, but overcame it, winning in overtime on Colton Parayko's goal 37 seconds in, 4-3 against the Stars at Enterprise Center on Saturday.
The Blues (15-14-1) found a way despite not getting the kind of start Bannister said he wanted to see earlier in the day when he spoke of being aggressive and direct against the Stars (17-9-4), who played on Friday night.
The Blues were able to find their footing midway through the first period, played arguably their strongest second period of the season and found a way in the end despite surrendering the tying goal in the third period.
Let's take a look at the three keys as to why the Blues improved to 2-0-0 under Bannister:
1. Kyrou bounce back game -- It was no secret Jordan Kyrou was getting attention for all the wrong reasons on Thursday.
The looming question the following two days leading into this game was how would the 25-year-old forward bounce back?
He bounced back with a goal and two assists, nine shots on goal in 17:39 of ice time and was a plus-2.
"I think I was just trying to find more open F-3," Kyrou said. "I think our pre-scout before the game showed a lot of F-3 shots. Also credit to my linemates. They were finding me a lot tonight."
The Blues relied on Kyrou, who scored a breakaway goal 1:36 into the second period that tied the game 2-2; he set up Brandon Saad's power-play goal in the first and drove the net on Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen before Parayko was able to pull the puck back and deposit it into the net in OT.
"Played really well. Great game by Jordan obviously," Parayko said. "We did a good job as a group, went down by two early there and came back and battled back. I thought we played a good team game. Good overall, but obviously 'Rouzy' led the way for us tonight. He was very impressive."
And the crowd, which booed him Thursday, showered Kyrou with love on Saturday.
"Yeah, I'm sure he feels good about it obviously," Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said. "It's a tough situation for him here the last couple days I'm sure. I think he's responded well and he's taking it pretty good."
"Obviously 'Rouzy's a big part of our team. We're all behind him. He had a really good game, a great response. Really, really happy for him. He's a big part of our team and we love him."
2. Overcoming a multi-goal deficit for first time this season -- When the Stars scored goals 1:49 apart in the first period (Mason Marchment and Ty Dellandrea) to forge ahead 2-0, game over right?
Well, they were 0-14-0 when trailing a game by multiple goals, 0-11-0 when they fell behind 2-0. Surely the Stars would make it 15-for-15, right? Well, streaks are made to be broken, and the Blues, for once, were able to find their footing and rally for a win.
"We didn't have a good start," Faulk said. "First 10 minutes, they were kind of all over us. Had one shot through 10 minutes or whatever it was and then 'Saader' got us going there with the power-play goal. That's something that we've been looking for obviously. It's a good time. Those are the times you need the power play to step up and kind of bring some life into the group, and that's what it did. We got through the rest of the first playing a good game and rolled it into the second period and we were able to go from there."
3. Special teams, particularly in first period fueled comeback -- A key point in the game came when the Blues were trailing 2-0 when Ty Dellandrea scored what amounted to be Dallas' second goal. Well, the Blues challenged for goalie interference when they felt Stars forward Sam Steel interfered with Binnington at 6:47 of the first period.
They would lose that challenge and head to the penalty kill. If the Stars score there, it is likely game over. The Blues, who were 3-for-3 on the kill, got a big one there, then went on to score on their lone power play at 12:53 of the first, made it a 2-1 game and helped fuel their comeback.
"I thought our penalty kill was outstanding," Bannister said. "We're down 2-0, we get a great kill and we seemed to grab some momentum off it. From about the 10-minute (mark) on from the first period, we really got going and then our power play comes up with a real big goal and we go into the first period (down) 2-1 and we have some momentum going into the second.
"I thought our pace started to wear them down a little bit, but we were direct. I thought we managed the puck well. When we had opportunities to attack, we took those opportunities, but when we were running out of time and space, the guys managed the puck well, they made smart decisions, we were able to get on our retrievals. The second period, we had a lot of momentum going there, but I think just the habits and details were better. That's a good hockey team over there. They're tough to defend. The specialty teams for me is what stuck out, especially the PK against a power play like that, but the [Blues] power play, it's a big goal. I know it made it a 2-1 game, but in a broader spectrum, it's a big goal for that group."
