Perhaps it`s time for the St. Louis Blues to bring back “Gloria”.
After achieving a franchise-record 12 consecutive victories, the Blues are reminiscent of their 2019 season. In that year, they dismissed coach Mike Yeo after 19 games and went on to achieve a highly unexpected Stanley Cup victory in NHL history.
This season, the Blues also replaced coach Drew Bannister after 22 games. Since then, they have the fifth-best points percentage in the league at .649. Jordan Binnington, who rose to prominence six years ago, is reminding fans of that remarkable run, with a 1.84 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage during his personal seven-game winning streak.
“Obviously, it’s a completely different team,” Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist, who was part of the Stanley Cup-winning team, told reporters. “We’re a younger, faster team now, whereas we were more experienced in 2019. However, walking into this locker room, it feels similar to 2019, in terms of our closeness and how much fun we`re having both on and off the ice. In that sense, it’s very similar.”
When the Blues replaced Bannister with Jim Montgomery on November 24, their playoff chances were at 17.4 percent. These odds dropped to 4.7 percent at the beginning of the 4 Nations Face-Off break after St. Louis lost six out of eight games. Despite losing to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, St. Louis`s 18-3-2 record since the regular season resumed is the best in the league.
Montgomery, despite being dismissed by the Boston Bruins in November, is certainly a strong candidate for the Jack Adams Award. He could become the first coach in league history to be nominated while coaching multiple teams in a single season. He has played a key role in turning the Blues around, transforming them into one of the stingiest defensive teams in the league over recent months.
Specifically, St. Louis has significantly improved their rush defense, which was among the league`s worst under Bannister. Under Montgomery, the Blues have allowed a league-low 22 goals from rush-scoring chances in 57 games, averaging just 0.39 per game. In contrast, they conceded nearly one rush goal per game under Bannister (21 in 22 games).
The Blues have made it considerably harder for opponents to cleanly exit their defensive zone. They have reduced successful plays following carry-out attempts to the third-lowest rate since late November – a significant improvement from 23rd before the coaching change. (Remarkably, the Blues` defense has remained solid even without defenseman Colton Parayko, who has been sidelined for a month with a knee injury.)
“It’s been a commitment from every forward in our lineup to execute effective routes, especially our reloads and backchecking routes,” Montgomery told reporters. “Because of this, our defensemen, who are excellent skaters, can maintain tight gaps, preventing opponents from easily entering our blue line. We consistently track back hard through the middle, which effectively eliminates odd-man rushes.”
Offensively, the Blues are spearheaded by their top center, Robert Thomas. His 40 points since February 1st are tied with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for the league`s highest. Had a fractured ankle not sidelined him for 12 games early in the season, Thomas would likely be having a career year. (He has been involved in 19 of St. Louis’s 28 goals in the last eight games, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.)
Thomas’s 100 completed passes to the slot since February 1st are second only to Kucherov (109) during that period. The slot pass that set up Pavel Buchnevich’s goal on Monday extended Thomas’s assist streak to eight games for the second time this season, making him the only player with two such streaks in 2024-25.
Tristan Blackwood