Observations From Blues' 3-0 Win Vs. Hurricanes

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues wanted to perform well in front of plenty of past Blues alumni in attendance after inducting three more into their Hall of fame on Monday.

Past and of course, present players were all over Enterprise Center on Tuesday one day after putting Alexander Steen, Barret Jackman and Al Arbour into this year’s class.

Consider all the boxes checked and against a very formidable Carolina Hurricanes team that had been on a pretty good run.

The Blues made sure to play up to the style of the Hurricanes and bettered them at it; they got special teams goals from each unit with a power-play goal by Jimmy Snuggerud, a shorthanded goal by Nick Bjugstad and a tic-tac-toe goal from Dalibor Dvorsky. Combine that with Joel Hofer’s league-tying fourth shutout this season with a 33-save performance, and it adds up to a 3-0 win over the Hurricanes.

The Blues (18-21-8) ended a three-game slide and prevented from falling to a season-high five games under .500 with one of their most complete games of the season, and doing so without two of their top players: Robert Thomas and Philip Broberg.

“I thought tonight was the smartest game we’ve played as far as playing a simple but very effective game,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “Making them turn, being really reliant on our forecheck and playing fast, and I thought the little details and habits within our game, blocked shots, net front blockouts were the best they’ve been all year.”

Bjugstad added, “I thought we played them very well. We came prepared on the game plan and executed. There’s not much space when you play against those guys, so you know you’ve got to move it pretty quick. I thought out D were moving it quick and we were getting to the spots for the most part. ‘Hof’ had some real big saves as well. From the penalty kill to the power play to ‘Hof’ to 5-on-5, I thought that was one of our most complete games.”

Let’s take a look at Tuesday’s observations:

* Blues matched Carolina’s aggressive style in all three zones – Montgomery spoke in the morning of how the Hurricanes (24-15-4), who were 4-0-1 their previous five games and had scored three or more goals in seven straight, put puck pressure on their opposition all over the ice.

Take an extra second, and a Carolina skater will be on you like a dog on a bone.

And when Carolina pressures you off the puck, the Hurricanes dominate zone time and shot volume, averaging 32.3 per game, which was second in the NHL and allowing the fewest in the league (24.2).

“It’s crazy, so much pressure throughout the whole ice,” Snuggerud said. “Making quick plays, checking what the play is before the puck gets to you, know that they’re coming. Their ‘D’ pinch hard every single time. Just chips off the walls, things like that and trying to get a pass in using our speed. We knew they were on a back to back. Our emphasis before the game was to use our speed as much as we possibly can and I feel like we executed that.”

In order to not allow the Hurricanes to dominate territorially, the Blues had to execute one specific portion of the ice.

“I felt that we really had to play a north game and play to their goal line and to win goal line races, and I felt that we did that,” Montgomery said. “There was a lot of forecheck. We got a forecheck goal and we had two great forecheck chances alone in the first, and it just kept happening, especially in the third. I liked the way we played with the lead in the third. We didn’t sit back. We played going at them, an aggressive style, which is the way you want to play, and we had opportunities to extend that lead.”

* Boxing out so Hofer could see pucks – Carolina puts pucks towards the net from all angles and have two bodies at the net the majority of the time.

But the Blues came in with the assumption that they had to box out and block shots.

They blocked 18, which is a solid number, but the boxing out enabled Hofer to see majority of the shots.

“Obviously we know they’re a high-shot volume team,” Hofer said. “The first couple of minutes, you could obviously tell they were shooting everything. Our D-men did a great job boxing out and making sure I saw the shots.

“It’s been a key focus of ours for a little bit now. It’s paying off. Those guys are doing a good job. It’s tough on them. There’s big guys going to the net and they were doing a great job.”

* Welcome back Nick Bjugstad – The big center had missed the past 15 games with an upper-body injury, last playing in a game Dec. 9 against the Boston Bruins. Montgomery inserted him into the lineup between Pavel Buchnevich and Jonatan Berggren, and it was effective in the game, but Bjugstad broke a scoreless game with a precision shot over Brandon Bussi’s glove hand at 3:09 to make it 1-0.

It came off an aggressive penalty kill that allowed Faulk to ultimately move the puck into the neutral zone and allow Bjugstad to pick his shot with Faulk and Oskar Sundqvist driving the middle off a 3-on-1:

“I knew it was a 3-on-1, kind of last second so the goalie had to respect that,” Bjugstad said. “I was planning on shooting initially and then I heard three and the goalie had to kind of square up and respect the two other guys driving. It was a great play by Faulk and [Sundqvist] on the penalty kill there. It’s nice when you get a little time to shoot the puck.”

Bjugstad traveled on the Blues’ most recent three-game road trip and needed to work some kinks out before playing again; he played 11:31 and had three shots on goal but only won six of 20 face-offs (30 percent).

“I think I was nearing a return last week,” he said. “I got to travel with the team and was feeling pretty good. Just needed a few practices with a little contact, get the heart rate up a little bit. It’s hard when you’re at this point of the season. Practices are a little scarce with how many games there’s been. The staff did a great job with me and the rehab. I felt alright. A little tired by the end of the game, but that’ll happen after a month off.”

* Dvorsky’s best game? – The line with Dvorsky, Jake Neighbours and Jordan Kyrou was noticeable throughout the game.

But on Dvorsky’s goal at 9:48 that made it 2-0, the execution from the defensive zone through the neutral zone to the offensive zone to scoring was perfectly done.

Kyrou breaks up a play in the D-zone, moving it up ice and worked a give-and-go with Dvorsky, getting the puck back on the right and saucering a puck onto an oncoming Tyler Tucker off the left. Tucker finds Neighbours low, who then finds Dvorsky in the low slot for the finish top shelf:

“I thought it was excellent,” Montgomery said. ‘Dalibor Dvorsky's had some really good games, that might have been his best 200-foot game. He was really good in the D-zone, he was moving his legs, he was winning a lot of 1-on-1 battles and it started in that goal. They win that battle, 72 to 72 to 54 low and then we move the puck up and great execution. What a great pass by Jordan Kyrou on the entry to find 75 and then down to 63 and a real poised play that we’re used to seeing Jake Neighbours make in and around the net and a good finish.”

* Snuggerud’s icing on the cake power-play marker – Part of the execution was when the Hurricanes do get an odd-man rush, kill plays whichever way the Blues could.

They did so when Kyrou tried to play a cross-ice high-low pass that got intercepted and Carolina smelled blood. The Hurricanes took off shorthanded and created a great chance, but Brayden Schenn got a piece of the shot that the Blues turned back the other way for an odd-man rush of their own started by Kyrou, who dropped a pass to Snuggerud and he wired a snap shot high glove on Bussi at 12:49 to make it 3-0:

“I tried to check the back side to see if ‘Jakey’ was there,” Snuggerud said, “because obviously it was a high odd-man rush. Obviously I ended up ripping it.”

* Finding a way without Thomas, Broberg – It’s never ideal having to play without two of your top players.

But with Philip Broberg (concussion protocol) and Robert Thomas (lower body) sidelined for the game, it’s the old cliché of next-man-up.

“Next man up mentality. We did a great job,” Hofer said. ‘I thought we kept our play pretty simple tonight. Obviously the huge shorthanded goal by ‘Bjugs’ got us going. We kind of carried that momentum, it was great.”

Snuggerud added, “A hundred percent. It stinks not having them. They’re such valuable pieces to this team. The game goes on, it keeps going. It’s not going to stop for you. Exactly, next man up. Just keep trying to improve our game as much as we possibly could.”

* Hall of Fame motivation – Last and most important, plenty of Blues legends were in the building. It didn’t have to take much to get the competitive juices flowing for this one after spending Monday night at the Missouri Athletic Club reminiscing about Blues past.

“Fifteen of our players were in attendance last night and when you’re hearing the Hall of Famers that are getting inducted, Barret Jackman and ‘Steener’ did a great job, and then ‘Chaser’ with everything that he’s done for the Bluenote and the stories about Bobby Plager by Brett Hull, Al MacInnis, [Chris] Pronger, [Leith] Tkachuk. Garry Unger, Red Berenson,” Montgomery said. ‘There was a lot of history there last night, and I think it really soaked in about how special it is to play for this city and for our fans, and I thought our players played with that passion and intensity of a lot of the great players and teams that have played here before wearing the Bluenote.”

Bjugstad had played for six different organizations prior to joining the Blues and this alumni base takes the cake.

“I've played on a few teams and I've never experienced an alumni like this,” he said. “It's a strong culture and you can tell everyone kind of keeps tabs on what's going on even if they've been out of the league for a while. It's fun for the players to get to know guys and hear stories and hear about the history of the Blues. I’ve been on a decent amount of teams and they do an amazing job of involving the alumni and making it a communal thing with us.

“It was a good game out of everybody tonight, fun game to come back for. Obviously Hall of Fame night. We stressed that this morning and before the game it's an honor to be wearing the Bluenote, a lot of guys were in the building tonight, so we wanted to play hard for them and the fans. It was good coming off a road trip. If we play like that, we can compete with anybody.”

Snuggerud called it, “Super important. From the dinner last night to the game tonight, you kind of can see the things from their eyes and what it means to be a Blue. It was really cool to hear those things. Having them in the building tonight and seeing Oshie in the box, it was cool too. Just a huge congratulations to those guys inducted, ‘Steener’, Barret and Al Arbour. It means a lot to put this jersey on and you just kind of realize it more and more each day.”

The current players recognize the importance of honoring those that paved the way before them, and to give their best on their night was only natural.

“It was very important to us,” Hofer said. “Lots of us went to the ceremony last night. Those guys do a great job and obviously great role models for all of us. It was huge for us to get a win for them tonight.”

“It’s special. You can’t really describe it much. Just the love for the city and the passion. The Bluenote means a lot more. It’s not just a logo, everybody’s working toward a goal and it’s a big community thing. It’s special.”

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