Benjamin Hochman
Sports columnist
Monty’s pythons.
Slithering with speed, coach Jim Montgomery’s Blues aggressively ambush their prey.
And opponents who perhaps thought the “retooling Blues” are pushovers? They soon find themselves ... snakebitten.
St. Louis didn’t look like a playoff contender under Drew Bannister; St. Louis sure does under Montgomery.
Monty has uncoiled the Blues.
What just happened on that Canadian road trip was nothing short of extraordinary — the Blues went 3-1 while defeating three teams with above-.500 records (including Winnipeg!). Montgomery, already, has this team dutifully and beautifully playing in front of the net. And his line combinations — producing from the slot, working like machines — are like four jackpots.
Things couldn’t be going better for St. Louis — the team and the fans. And as for the latter, well, this city needed something to go its way this winter. For the first time in a long time, the Cardinals are going young and looking to save money. St. Louis City SC had a letdown of a second season. And St. Louis University has a fascinating new coach (Josh Schertz) and two key transfers (Robbie Avila and Isaiah Swope), but the Billikens have only narrowly defeated the likes of UMass Lowell and Jackson State.
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Now, as for the Blues, it is fair to be said — many (many!) sports teams play better immediately after a coach is fired. Heck, the Blues did under Bannister. And sure enough, St. Louis is 5-1-1 since Montgomery took over for Bannister.
But even if the Blues weren’t playing well right away, there would still be so much excitement about Montgomery taking over. He’s a proven winner. He literally has the best one-year regular-season record in NHL history. The franchise believes in him — St. Louis gave him his first gig (as a Craig Berube assistant) following his addiction rehabilitation. The players love him (and loved him as an assistant, too).
He considers St. Louis a hockey home — he played here and married a local lady. And he signed a particularly long five-year deal, which implies he’s here for the retool and the repercussions (which could be potentially positive).
Yet the Blues are, indeed, playing excellent hockey immediately under Montgomery. And in a season in which St. Louis sure needs to make the playoffs, the team is already in the wild-card hunt (St. Louis has 30 points, while the second wild-card team has 33).
In the seven games with the new coach, the Blues have outscored opponents 25-16. Stars and contributors are both shining, from Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou to youngster Zack Bolduc and goalie Joel Hofer.
Thrilling newcomer Dylan Holloway has 11 points in the seven games (and is plus-eight) — of late, I feel like every little decision that Holloway makes on the ice is the right decision and, furthermore, a clever decision. And ol’ reliable Colton Parayko has four points (and is plus-four).
Montgomery’s fingerprints are already all over this club. As for playing in front of the net, they aren’t just talking about it — they’re getting there routinely. Jake Neighbours always does, but many of the other guys are doing so, too. In the most recent game — Tuesday’s overtime win at Vancouver — Oskar Sundqvist helped on the forecheck and then scurried to the net front. He was perfectly placed in front of the goaltender. And then, Sunny jumped and allowed the Bolduc shot to slip under him ... and past the goalie.
Strategically, Montgomery put Thomas and Kyrou on a line with Pavel Buchnevich — and in the short-term, it’s working wonderfully. In the seven games, Kyrou has four goals and two assists. As I’ve written, Montgomery’s coaching of Kyrou will be imperative in both the short term and the long term — this young man must maximize his talent.
And against Vancouver, there was Kyrou speedskating into the offensive zone — on the broadcast, Jamie Rivers shared that Kyrou clocked in at 21 and 22 mph at two key times. And Kyrou scored a gorgeous one-timer with a man advantage, though the prettier play was the pass. Thomas unleashed a no-look pass across ice, which sure fooled the goalie.
And now, for a change, St. Louis will play some games in St. Louis. On Thursday, the Blues host San Jose and celebrated rookie Macklin Celebrini (though with the way San Jose has played, it’s possible they’ll get to draft next year’s Celebrini, too). The Blues then dart to Dallas for a Saturday night matchup against Monty’s old-old club. Then, it’s Sunday at home against the Rangers and Tuesday at home against the Devils (two tough opponents, though here’s thinking the Rangers and Devils themselves look at the Montgomery-coached Blues as a tough opponent).
So many games left to play. So many storylines to pop up. But it’s pretty cool to see this team playing with this confidence and confluence. Who knew the December Blues could be a good thing?
