Schenn scores late game-winner; fourth line sets tone with proper play, rewarded with six combined points
ST. LOUIS – There have been a number of lopsided losses the St. Louis Blues have endured this season, and there was another one on Wednesday.
How they respond to those kinds of losses, like the 6-1 thumping at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, gives you some sort of indication of where the group is heading.
Blues coach Jim Montgomery spoke pregame about wanting the players to play for each other, and the fourth line for sure took it to heart by setting the tone, and Brayden Schenn provided the theatrics late scoring his 35th game-winner since joining the Blues in 2017 by scoring with 1:33 remaining, and the Blues recovered and slipped by the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 at Enterprise Center on Friday.
Alexey Toropchenko and Oskar Sundqvist each had a goal and an assist, and Mathieu Joseph had two assists to give the fourth line six points for the game, and Justin Faulk netted his team-leading 11th goal of the season. Joel Hofer made 21 saves to earn his ninth win.
“After every game, you have to move forward and just clean up the mistakes and be better next game,” Toropchenko said in response to the loss in Colorado.
“Last game was tough, just with the way we started,” Schenn said. “Obviously a good team, credit to them. Got a little embarrassed in their building. It’s all about the response, came out, played hard tonight. We still have to get better in certain areas, but it’s just good to see the response with effort and guys coming out on home ice playing hard.”
Let’s get into Friday’s game observations:
* Fourth line took charge – When the fourth line is cycling, checking, sustaining good offensive zone shifts, setting up those coming over the boards behind them, chances are good things are happening.
That’s what Toropchenko, Sundqvist and Joseph were doing on Friday.
After getting scored on first, courtesy of Keegan Kolesar at 10:12 of the first period, the fourth line came over the boards and put together a nice shift, and Toropchenko scored his second of the season and first since Nov. 5 against the Washington Capitals to tie it 1-1 27 seconds later on a workmanlike effort with Joseph breaking out with the puck, feeding Toropchenko up the left side, he beats defenseman Ben Hutton around the left edge, gets an initial shot off on Carter Hart but follows up his own shot:
“I thought the first goal alone, that’s what ‘Torpo’ does for us,” Montgomery said. “We call that when you drive the net on the strong side, we call it the two-hole, and it’s the hardest thing to do is to get to the two-hole because usually defenseman are going to stop you from getting there and it takes great will and courage to be able to take the puck to those areas because you expect you’re going to get hit and that’s why it takes a lot of courage, but when you do it, you either score, you create a rebound for a goal or you draw a penalty, an interference penalty. Great job by that line the entire game, and they got a lot of top defensive zone shifts just because their ability to do the right thing, get the puck out of our end or off lost draws.”
But it’s the kind of work that the fourth line was doing all throughout the game, and that was able to carry over when Sundqvist also got his second of the season and first since Nov. 28 against the Ottawa Senators by keeping a play alive in the offensive zone and getting to the net after Sundqvist’s initial backhand pass along the left wall trying to hit Jordan Kyrou, who was denied on a penalty shot at 3:44 of the first period, on a backdoor play:
“Working hard, playing hard,” Toropchenko said. ‘Just making sure we are good defensively because defense lead to offense and try to make hard, simple and smart plays. It went well today.
“I think it’s what we do best, play hard and bring the energy and just try to wear the other team’s line down. Just help to set up next shift with better opportunities for the team. Whoever next is going, mentality first (is) work hard and play with your heart.”
The Blues were able to get between the dots and score four even-strength goals, and the fourth line set the tone.
“Absolutely. Those guys are just an identity line for us,” Schenn said. “They played the right way, they move the game forward, they have good game management, they play good defense, block shots and tonight they got rewarded with two huge goals for us. Nice to see Torpo get rewarded because he plays hard for us every single night and it was nice to see him score a goal.”
Montgomery was speaking of being more between the dots, and the Blues delivered.
“That’s exactly what we mean,” he said. “And I felt that tonight offensively was one of our better offensive games of being inside the dots and being a little more committed to harder areas that resulted and we got four goals tonight, four 5-on-5 goals.”
* Finishing an odd-man rush after separating the puck – Pavel Buchnevich, who had two assists and made a nice play setting up the Faulk goal that gave the Blues a 2-1 lead at 5:39 of the second, was able to make the key defensive play separating Noah Hanifin of the puck along the wall at center ice, turning it into a 2-on-1 with Schenn and Jimmy Snuggerud. Snuggerud kept the puck and Schenn, key to this was going wide to the back post, gave Snuggerud a lane to shoot; he shot, and Hart made the initial save but Schenn got the good fortune with the puck caroming in off his skate with 1:33 remaining to give the Blues ultimately the win:
“Just drive the net. Back post drive,” Schenn said. “One, you hopefully open up some space for the guy with the puck and two, you kind of put the goalie on notice when you drive to the back post, change his feet angle. Jimmy made a good shot and I was right place, right time.
“I think as a line, we worked tonight, maybe didn’t have a ton of chances. ‘Buchy’ made a nice play to ‘Faulker’ and just a good battle by him on the wall to give us an opportunity there at the end of the game.”
“We’ve talked about being able to finish on our odd-man rushes, something we haven’t done at an efficient rate anyways this year, and I’m glad (Snuggerud) decided to rip it and I just think that’s the hockey gods for ‘Schenner’ to score a goal for his baby girl, who was born yesterday,” Montgomery said. “He’s an incredible family man and as you guys know, he’s been an incredible pro his entire career and for him to be able to come in and be committed to the team despite knowing your wife may go into labor speaks volumes about his commitment to being a pro and it speaks volumes about him rushing back home to grab his wife and get back to the hospital. He’s probably running on fumes right how, but that adrenaline from getting that goal hopefully gets some rest tonight with the newborn baby at home.”
Schenn had to hurry back home from the game on Wednesday with his wife Kelsey set to deliver the couple’s third child, a daughter, on Thursday when the team returned home.
Quite the gift, for sure.
* Faulk leads Blues in goals, had tough couple moments – It’s been some kind of offensive season for Faulk, who finished Buchnevich’s cross seam pass from the right circle:
But it was a couple tough veteran miscues on defense that had this a game in the first place.
Leading 3-1, he tried a very risky outlet from his own corner that would have had to make it through multiple Vegas bodies but was picked off by Brett Howden at the blue line that led to Mark Stone’s goal at 9:10 of the second to cut the Blues lead to 3-2:
And in the third, Faulk overskated and fumbled a puck in possession that turned back and led to Pavel Dorofeyev’s tying goal at 8:21 to tie the game at 3-3:
But getting Schenn’s late winner was able to, for the Blues’ sake, erase these.
“It was great, especially for all of us, new year, go with a win,” Toropchenko said. “It’s great.”
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