The Blues gave themselves a pretest on Thursday night.
They set the bar high with a 7-1 preseason win over Ottawa.
In a near-full dress rehearsal on Thursday night against the Senators, the Blues iced a lineup with many of the NHL-caliber players that will suit up in a week against the Wild. The Blues were winless in the preseason, and a loss vs. Ottawa would have been a bit stinging given who wore the Note. Before the game, Blues coach Jim Montgomery conceded that the result didn’t matter as much vs. Ottawa as it would vs. Minnesota next week, but it was still important to add one to the win column.
“I don’t care if it’s an exhibition game,” Montgomery said. “Having talked to the other coaches around the league, you always feel better about your team when you win. I didn’t feel good about our team the last two games (vs. Chicago and Dallas), and we lost. If we win those games, do I feel as (if) we’re not ready enough? Those things go through your head as a coach. But as a competitor, you want to win hockey games.”
Thursday was likely the final time that the Blues will dress an NHL-ready lineup. Many teams use the final game of the preseason as a showcase for their AHL-bound players, and even more so since the Blues will be playing on the road in Chicago. Last year, the Blues traveled to Milwaukee in the preseason finale with a band of future Springfield Thunderbirds.
So when Robert Thomas (one goal, two assists) submitted a three-point night, and Philip Broberg (two goals, one assist) did the same, and Jordan Binnington made 36 saves, and Pavel Buchnevich scored and Dylan Holloway too, it was encouraging for the Blues to see.
Montgomery said “there were a lot of parts of our game” to feel good about.
“The way we played north, the way we stretched the ice, transitioned offensively,” Montgomery said. “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. I thought that that was about 45 minutes of it.”
It should feel right that the Blues are not a finished product. They’re hardly a started project, after all.
Between now and the season opener against the Wild, the Blues still have questions to answer.
Has Nick Bjugstad settled into the right wing spot on the third line after two assists on Thursday night? Has Mathieu Joseph done enough to cement his spot on the roster, thanks to a goal early in the first period? Can Milan Lucic use Saturday’s preseason finale to successfully campaign for a contract?
But none of those questions are concerning ones, which could have popped up with a poor performance on Thursday by the Blues.
“We did a lot of good things at the start, kind of got away from it and back to it a little bit,” Thomas said. “Nice to get a win on the board. Feel like we played a better game and trending in the right direction.”
Perhaps the way the Blues scored vs. Ottawa mattered more than the quantity of them. Jospeh and Oskar Sundqvist’s first-period goals came after wingers exited the zone quickly and led to chances in transition. Thomas and Buchnevich’s goals featured defensemen jumping into the rush and driving the middle of the ice. Then Broberg himself got in on the act with two goals just 27 seconds apart.
“It’s more having a five guys go mentality of we’re sprinting north when we get possession,” Montgomery said. “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.”
At their core, the Blues will likely adopt the same team identity they wore down the stretch last season. They hope to be an unselfish team that sacrifices for their teammates, forechecks hard and defends well.
But that doesn’t mean that they can’t get out in transition, too.
“We’re a fast team,” Thomas said. “We play fast, we’ve got a lot of skill. We’ve got D that can skate, move the puck. We’ve got forwards that can make plays. I think that’s the way we get the most out of our players. That’s a system that fits the kind of people we have. I think if we do that well, we can have a lot of success.”
For most of the Blues, they’re likely all tuned up and have to wait a week to return to the ice. At least they’ll have a sweet aftertaste.
“It’s for sure nice to win a game,” Broberg said. “Any game is fun to win. Excited for the season to start.”
— Blues defenseman Justin Faulk left the game about halfway through the third period. Montgomery said he got caught up high with a stick.
“He had stitches, and hoping there’s no dental work needed,” Montgomery said.
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Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch
Hockey reporter
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