BLUES The St. Louis Blues (24-25-4) started February off with a bang, earning their first win in franchise history over the Utah Hockey Club, 2-1, on Sunday.
Following the victory, Head Coach Jim Montgomery expressed his pride in his team’s performance.
“I just like the way we started the game aggressively and we played all 60 minutes aggressively, so it was good to see us compete like that and play hard for each other and get rewarded,” Montgomery said.
The Blues came out strong offensively, firing 15 shots on goal in the first period while limiting Utah to just six. They ended the frame with a goal from Alexandre Texier, his fourth of the season.
The Blues maintained their dominance across the stat sheet, recording 11 more hits, winning 14 additional faceoffs and successfully killing four penalties. Jordan Kyrou tallied the game-winning goal, the 19th of his career and fourth of the season.
Montgomery was pleased with his team’s response following a rough stretch of games.
“We snapped a streak where we weren’t playing well, so now we’ve got to build on this and get another game like this with the same kind of effort, same kind of compete and the same kind of playing hard for each other,” Montgomery said.
The Blues will look to continue the momentum on Tuesday when they face the Edmonton Oilers to begin a three-game homestand. The team plays their next six games at home, split up by a break for the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
OILERS The Edmonton Oilers (32-16-4) are entering Tuesday’s game on a two-game losing streak, most recently falling to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Saturday.
Defenseman Evan Bouchard recorded a goal, an assist and had eight shots on goal in Saturday’s loss to the Maple Leafs. In the Oilers’ three games during the week of Jan. 27, Bouchard had a total of one goal, two assists and 16 shots on goal.
The Oilers recently made another addition on the blueline, signing John Klingberg to a one-year contract. Klingberg made his Oilers debut on Jan. 30 after signing with the team on Jan. 17. Prior to that, he had not played in a game since Nov. 11, 2023, due to double hip surgery. He has two shots on goal and a -1 plus/minus rating in two games as an Oiler.
Since the Blues last saw the Oilers on Dec. 7, Edmonton has posted a 17-6-2 record, including two four-game winning streaks. They currently hold the top spot in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Jordan Kyrou scored the game-winning goal in Utah on Sunday. It was his fourth game-winner of the season, which is tied for tops on the team with Dylan Holloway and Brayden Schenn. His 22 goals, 43 points, 152 shots on goal and +12 plus/minus rating all lead the Blues this season. He is the first Blue to score 20 goals in four or more consecutive seasons since Vladimir Tarasenko (six times, 2013-14 to 2018-19).
OILERS Leon Draisaitl leads the team and the League in goals with 36 this season. Draisaitl also leads the team in points with 77 (36 goals, 41 assists). In the last 12 games, he has earned 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists). The No. 3 overall pick in 2014 has 927 points (383 goals, 544 assists) in 771 games.
BLUE NOTES
- The Blues are 3-1-1 against the Oilers in their last five meetings.
- The Blues are 13-6-4 in one-goal games this season, which shares second-most wins in one-goal games in the NHL.
- Robert Thomas recorded his 25th assist of the season on Sunday. He has 13 points in his last 18 games (six goals, seven assists).
