ST. LOUIS – The consensus from the St. Louis Blues after their emotional high of not only experiencing the Discover NHL Winter Classic but winning it, 6-2 against the Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/three-takeaways-from-blues-6-2-winter-classic-win-against-blackhawks], was how to respond in the days leading into the next game. No Winter Classic hangover, defensive play continues to shine, goal production on rise The Ottawa Senators were next on the ledger, a team that was as hot as anyone in the month of December, going 9-3-1, including a six-game winning streak. But the Blues played a simple game, and Brandon Saad provided the lift offensively with a natural hat trick, his first with the Blues and first in just over seven years in a 4-0 win against the Senators at Enterprise Center on Friday. Jordan Binnington made 20 saves for his 18th shutout in NHL and Blues history, and Brayden Schenn scored for the Blues (19-17-4), who are 4-1-1 in their past six games. Let’s look at the Three Takeaways from tonight’s win: * No Winter Classic hangover – The schedule makers did the Blues a huge favor by not scheduling their next game after playing in the Discover NHL Winter Classic on Dec. 31 three days later [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/after-emotional-high-of-winter-classic-experience-blues-get-back-to-grind-need-to-find-extra-gear]. There was, naturally, some concern whether the Blues could come down off the high of experiencing the NHL’s signature outdoor game, followed by a resounding win and stay in course. “Yeah for sure. Guys were a little wore down yesterday from those highs at the Winter Classic,” Blues defenseman Ryan Suter said. “We knew today we had to keep it simple. We were able to get up early and then I thought we played a solid game.” Forward Pavel Buchnevich agreed. “’Monty’ was telling us last couple days, ‘Let’s focus on the game,”’ Buchnevich said. “Everybody understands it’s an emotional night there and the game’s on New Year’s, family there, blah, blah, blah. You just have to be ready for the game. Ottawa’s a desperate team and they will come hard and we have to be ready for them. We got two points today and everybody’s happy.” * Defensive gem – When Jim Montgomery took over for Drew Bannister on Nov. 24, one of the areas he wanted to tighten up was the team’s defensive game. In the past six games (4-1-1), the Blues have allowed 12 goals for an average of two per game and giving up an average of 23.7 shots per game. “I think everyone is on the same page,” Blues defenseman Ryan Suter said. “I think guys are playing the right way. We’ve understood now that the better you defend, the more offense you’re going to get, the less time you spend in our end.” The Blues made sure pucks from goal line to goal line were played into right areas. There was no East-West play, the team’s not getting hemmed in their zone, no defensive zone turnovers, and they’re protecting the front of the net. “That happens. But it’s how you react to that,” Suter said. “Sometimes you’re going to be out of breath. The other team’s got some momentum. I think we’ve been good at limiting those times against. If they do happen, keep everyone to the outside, you live to kind of fight another day. “It was a simple (game). We knew they were on a back-to-back. We didn’t want to give them anything and I thought we capitalized on our chances.” The forwards are also part of the equation. “There’s more clarity in what we do defensively,” Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich said. “… When everybody knows what to do, it’s easy to play, easy to read from each other. I think this helps us out.” Tonight, the Blues were missing Justin Faulk (upper-body injury), a minutes eater averaging 23:37 a game and inserted Scott Perunovich without missing a beat. “’Faulker’s a big side, big part of our team,” Buchnevich said. “He create defensively. You see how he play in Winter Classic with injury, warrior. We miss him, but other guys step up and play great. I feel like everybody plays well and we have to repeat it tomorrow.” Montgomery’s even taking the defensive side back further. “It’s simple plays with the puck, but I think for me, ever since we went on that road trip at the start of the game in Winnipeg, we’ve been really committed defensively,” he said. ‘You play good defense, you get the puck more, now our offensive game is built from there. To me, that’s the area was needing more improvement was our tracking and D-zone and credit to the players, they’ve dug in, they’re executing at a high level. I thought that would be the hardest sell, but it was the easiest.” * Goal production is up – Eventually, the goal production would go up. Montgomery mentioned above the better defensive play, and playing good defense leads to having the puck more, and having the puck more means more offense. Well, in the past five games, the Blues are averaging 4.6 goals per game, scoring 23 and getting it from 13 different players, not relying on the Kyrous, Buchnevichs and Robert Thomas’. In the previous five games, the Blues scored seven times, but it was a case of when, not if the gates to the net would open. “To me, I saw it coming,” Montgomery said. “I remember after the Tampa and Florida games, especially the Florida game, I said that was our best offensive game 5-on-5 in a while. We’ve just kept playing the right way. We’re playing harder, we’re making the good decisions. We’re still making a bunch of plays, but when we don’t have time and space to make a play, we’re predictable to each other. It’s allowing us to gain more o-zone time and more scoring chances.” In the past five games, goal scorers have included: Saad, Schenn, Cam Fowler, Jordan Kyrou, Dylan Holloway, Faulk, Alexandre Texier, Philip Broberg, Thomas, Nathan Walker, Colton Parayko, Oskar Sundqvist and Zack Bolduc. “I think whole Florida trip and we play after that, we play good, solid games, doesn’t give up much defensively,” Buchnevich said. “We got chances, but lots of guys just doesn’t score a lot this year, but at some point, it’s got to get through. Start scoring like ‘Rouzy’ and other guys start scoring and winning games. It starts to give you more confidence in the locker room and we’re happy to get wins.” Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA5MjcwNjk1MDQ0MDY0NDYy/subscribe2024-front-banner.jpg]
