Observations From Blues’ 6-2 Win Vs. Ducks

The St. Louis Blues are trying to do their part to stay in whatever margin they have remaining in the Western Conference wild card chase.

A second dominating performance in a month against the Anaheim Ducks produced a resounding 6-2 win at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Friday and pulled the Blues (32-31-12) within three points of three teams (San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators) who are all tied in points with 79 for that second wild card.

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The Blues also jumped over the Seattle Kraken by a point and even with the Winnipeg Jets with 76 points in the standings; all of the aforementioned teams have played 75 games except for the Sharks and Kraken, who each have a game in hand.

But the problem the Blues are facing is the head-to-head matchups that all the teams fighting for one spot are facing. Fort instance, Nashville and San Jose square off on Saturday, so by the end of the night and when they next play, the Blues will once again be five points behind someone.

Dylan Holloway led the offense with a pair of power play goals; Robert Thomas had a goal and two assists, Pius Suter and Colton Parayko each had a goal and an assist, Jake Neighbours had his third two-assist game in the past four games, and Philip Broberg had two assists to extend his point streak to seven games (two goals, six assists).

Let’s get into Friday’s game observations:

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* When does Holloway start being looked at as a star in this league — I mean, guys, it’s starting to feel that way.

And let’s be honest, the forward was on this trajectory at the end of last season until that torn abductor muscle April 5, 2025 against the Pittsburgh Penguins sent him on a long journey, that also included a high ankle sprain, and has sent the 24-year-old on a road to full health.

His 18th of the season put the Blues ahead 2-1 at 11:15 of the opening period on a simple shot that may have caught goalie Lukas Dostal off guard, but it looked more like something that was off a smart read of scouting this particular goalie:

And his power-play goal at 1:22 of the third period wrapped up the scoring and made it 6-2 on a cross-seam pass from Thomas and one-timer from the right circle:

But since he came back healthy following the Olympic break on Feb. 26, Holloway has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 18 games, averaging 1.28 points per game. The 23 points is tied for 12th in the NHL; the 11 goals is tied for seventh, and his plus-22 is best in the league, only ahead of Thomas at plus-20.

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This was the sort of trajectory he was on last season and with restricted free agency status looming this summer, what type of contract are you comfortable if you’re outgoing GM Doug Armstrong-incoming GM Alexander Steen giving to Holloway. Do you go bridge deal? Do you go for more term like Broberg’s six-year, $48 million extension the defenseman signed earlier in the season?

Holloway is playing himself into a bonafide top-line winger and there’s no ignoring it when he’s producing like he is and playing with an edge on the ice affecting the game like he’s been doing.

He’s just seven goals off of tying last season’s career high of 26 in 25 fewer games played. It’s food for thought folks, and it’s a legitimate thought whether this kid can be a star winger.

* Blues scoring was balanced for a change — Look, the top line of Holloway, Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud — although he went without a point Friday — produced three goals and two assists in the game, so they definitely had an impact in the game. But the Blues have been desperately searching for some balance in the lineup on the offensive side.

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In 18 games (15 for Thomas), that line has produced 58 points (25 goals, 33 assists) and a combined plus-57. Just astounding numbers.

But Blues coach Jim Montgomery removed Pavel Buchnevich (maintenance), Alexey Toropchenko and Jack Finley off the forward group and Justin Holl on defense. In their spots, Jonathan Drouin, Oskar Sundqvist and Nathan Walker went in at forward, and Tyler Tucker, playing his first game since a lower-body injury on Oct. 18 against the Calgary Flames, went in on D.

You saw 10 guys get on the stat sheet in the game, and Montgomery moved Dalibor Dvorsky between Drouin and Jordan Kyrou, and Pius Suter centered an effective line with Neighbours and Jonatan Berggren, whose goal at 18:44 from the slot in the first period proved to be the winner and gave the Blues a 3-2 lead off a turnover and ensuing strong feed from Suter:

And when Suter is utilized more down the middle, he tends to be around the net more and certainly was when he took a Tucker feed on the backside to slam a shot in from the slot at 3:08 of the second period that made it 4-2:

Even Parayko got in on the scoring with Dvorsky and Kyrou setting the big defenseman up at 16:50 of the second that essentially put the game away at 5-2:

The Blues weren’t as predictable as they have been in recent games with their top guys doing their best, and they certainly were, carrying the bulk of the offensive load.

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* Tucker lowers the boom — The Blues didn’t actually get off to a good start in this game when the Ducks (41-30-5), fighting for the Pacific Division title, struck just 1:51 into the game on a Ryan Poehling redirect that made it 1-0.

You had to wonder if the losses in the past two games to the Sharks and Kings had a lasting affect on the Blues, who realize their playoff hopes are in dire straits.

But then Tucker, who missed the past seven games, used all that pent-up energy from not playing and laid a jarring hit on Ducks talented rookie Beckett Sennecke. It seemed inspire the group and not long after, led to Thomas tying the game at 1-1 at 5:24, a beautiful top shelf goal set up by a Broberg feathery feed into space:

Tucker, who had another heavy hit in the third period, finished the game playing 12:55 with a blocked shot doing what he does best when the team needs a lift.

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That hit on Sennecke certainly provided one.

Speaking of Broberg, how about him joining some rarified company for his point streak among Blues defenseman since the 1994-95 season? Pretty impressive.

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