ST.
LOUIS – The
St. Louis Blues picked up their first win of the preseason with a
decisive 7-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at
Enterprise Center.
The
Blues (1-3-1) came into the game one of two teams without a preseason
win, and coach Jim Montgomery made mention of that earlier in the day
following the morning skate, taking about that it was a point made.
They
certainly got it, despite the Senators (2-3-0) only bringing a
handful of experienced NHL players, including St. Louisan Brady
Tkachuk.
“In
a lot of ways, there was parts of our game where we played north, the
way we stretched the ice, transitioned offensively,” Montgomery
said. “I didn’t like our transition defensively as much. We gave
too many odd-man rushes that thankfully our defensemen handled well
and ‘Binner’ made a lot of big-time saves. We’re looking to
continue to build towards 60 minutes of good hockey and I thought
that that was 45 minutes of it.”
Five
Blues had multi-point games, including defenseman Philip Broberg, who
had two goals and an assist; Robert Thomas had a goal and two
assists; Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and an assist and Jimmy
Snuggerud and Nick Bjugstad each had two assists.
“I
think we’ve had a good training camp and I think we played pretty
good today,” Broberg said. “I’m excited for the season to
start.”
Here
are tonight’s observations:
*
Jordan
Binnington
doesn’t
need any more work; he’s ready for Oct. 9 –
This is the third straight start that Binnington has looked razor
sharp.
He
was a wall again, this time playing his first full game of the
preseason after going two in the opener against the Dallas Stars (a
2-1 shootout loss) and a 4-2 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks,
allowing just one combined goal in those games.
Binnington
has played seven periods over three preseason games and will finish
with a 0.86 goals-against average and .973 save percentage.
The
Senators peppered Binnington with 37 shots and he stopped 36 of them,
and making a number of those saves, even the high-danger ones look
easy.
“It
was fun tonight in that atmosphere, at home, we were scoring goals,
playing hard,” Binnington said. “Nice to get a victory.
“I
feel good right now. It is just preseason, a long way to go, but I’m
just trying to focus on my process. That’s where my head’s at.”
*
Logan Mailloux is ready for the NHL – Sometimes you have to get an
extensive look at a young kid, particularly one that’s raw and one
that was part of a hockey trade in which the Blues had to sacrifice
one of their good, young players.
The
Blues wanted to bring in someone they could build on their blue line
that came with some good pedigree.
Logan
Mailloux seems to fit the part, and each time inserted into the
lineup, he’s passed the tests.
Mailloux
had an assist and was a plus-2 in 22:50 of ice time with three shot
attempts and three hits. He had one giveaway, but when put under
duress against an aggressive Ottawa forecheck in this game, the
22-year-old managed to stay calm and make the right reads and right
plays to transition pucks up ice. He used his stick well again in
breaking up plays.
“I
was really pleased with his ability with how he skates, how he makes
plays, he’s a very confident offensive-defenseman, and I didn’t
know how well he defended with his stick,” Montgomery said. “I
did see tonight areas that we’re going to have to continue to work
with him, but you expect that. As you start to watch your players
more and more, you get used to them. You start to see obviously the
positives. There’s so many positives with him.
“He’s
a young defenseman. He’s going to play his first year full time in
the league, and there’s going to be areas that we’re going to
have to work with him. We’re going to see them as they develop. He
was a dominant player in the American (Hockey) League and we know
he’s going to be that in the NHL, but there’s going to be growing
pains to get there, just like any player.”
When
asked if he’s ready for the NHL, Montgomery said, “He’s ready.
He’s ready to be an NHL player.”
*
Broberg has ability to be strong offensive defenseman – Broberg’s
two goals on Thursday came in a pair of varieties.
The
first which put the Blues ahead 5-0 at 16:32 of the second period was
off a Thomas pass, and Broberg showed the calmness and poise to
outwait Senators goalie Leevi Merilainen to tuck home the forehand.
And
then 27 seconds later at 16:59, Broberg recognizes a chance to jump
in off the far side and take Buchnevich’s pass into the left circle
and rip a dart top shelf:
Broberg,
who had 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 68 games last season
and was a plus-21 – all career-highs.
“I
want to improve offensively for sure,” Broberg said. “I still
want to be responsible defensively as well and be a two-way guy. I
want to improve every day and just try and take steps.”
*
Top line had chance to shine, and did – For the second time this
preseason, the Blues had the opportunity to showcase the
Buchnevich-Thomas-Snuggerud line and it combined for seven points
(two goals, five assists) on the night.
“Their
transition game was top notch and each has the ability to shoot, make
pinpoint passes and plays at a top-notch rate.
“Really
explosive tonight, dynamic,” Montgomery said. “Still a little too
careless with the puck trying to force too much. Some of that’s
dictated by the score, but we’re looking to get the good habits
that are winning hockey. Unfortunately when the score gets to 4-, 5-,
6-0, your players tend to flaw. They take the foot off the gas pedal
so to speak and that’s something we want to build into our game.
Doesn’t matter, we just keep playing Blues hockey.”
Snuggerud
is known as the shooter, but he picks up the loose change off a
Justin Faulk miss and finds Thomas in front for the finish at 3-0 at
7:37 of the first:
“He’s
a great player,” Thomas said of Snuggerud. “Obviously he’s got
a great shot, but when he has the puck on his stick, he likes to make
moves, he likes to pass, he sees the ice really well. There’s not
just shooters anymore. He can do a lot of good things out there.”
*
Blues utilize their opportunities to break out with stretch passes –
Mathieu Joseph and Oskar Sundqvist got the Blues on the board
Thursday, Joseph scoring on a breakaway at 3:53 of the first for a
1-0 lead, and Sundqvist making it 2-0 at 5:59, but those plays came
off of things the Blues like and want to do: breaking up ice quickly
with the wingers so the d-men can find them in transition.
“As
soon as we know we’re going to get possession, whether we can do
examples like that, which are like the (Jordan) Kyrou (in the second
period) one was a fortunate breakaway just like the Joseph goal. But
that being said, it’s more having a five-guys-go mentality of we’re
sprinting north when we’re getting possession. Sometimes it’s
within your own zone, but the other team knows that if they don’t
get back, we’re going to have numbers and we’re going to have
speed coming at you.”
—
The Blues close the preseason on Saturday against the Chicago
Blackhawks, a game in which they will take a lot of their Springfield
players to play, and Colten Ellis, Binnington’s backup Thursday, is
likely to get the start in that game.
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