3 Takeaways From the Blues’ 5-2 Victory Over the Canucks

The St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks faced off for the first time this season on Monday night, earning a 5-2 victory over them. Before the matchup, the Blues were ranked in the top 10 in the league in zone time (42.7 percent), which was going to be a significant factor over the Canucks and certainly lived up to expectations in this game, taking over the shot column 35-29 to pressure the Canucks and move their record to 2-1-0. Let’s go ahead and unpack some takeaways from the game.

Blues’ Bottom-Six Forward Rush Was Potent

Some fantastic play from the Blues’ third and fourth lines gave them a significant edge at the beginning of the game. Newly added forward Nick Bjugstad got some dangerous shots on Canucks’ goaltender Kevin Lankinen that could’ve given them a lead just five minutes into the game, but were stopped. Not to mention Nathan Walker getting his high-danger shot attempt in the first period and later scoring in the second period on a nice rush play by the Blues. He was really aggressive in this game.

Jimmy Snuggerud clicked very well with Pius Suter and Mathieu Joseph. Their line had a combined four points in the first two periods of this game and absolutely dominated the Canucks off the rush. Snuggerud also finished with the most shots on net in the first half. Looking back at the Blues’ zone stats, he has proven to be one of the main reasons they are such a threatening zone team. It was a much-needed change for Snuggerud, with his last two games starting in the top six, ending with no goals from him.

In addition, defensemen Philip Broberg and Logan Mailloux were on top of the blue line to keep the puck in the zone and add offensive pressure over the Canucks. Overall, the Blues stuck to what worked from their 4-2 victory against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 11, and it followed through for them against the Canucks.

A Lot of Sloppy Giveaways From the Blues

Opening the game, the Blues had their pros but also showed many cons in their giveaways, which, if it weren’t for Jordan Binnington’s sharp goaltending, would probably have let in some early goals from the Canucks. Specifically, with Kiefer Sherwood, they allowed him to create two rebound chances, which he was able to open the scoring for the Canucks with his goal coming off one of them.

Then, on their second power play, there was a significant slip-up at center ice, as the Blues allowed Sherwood to strike again and score a shorthanded goal for their second goal of the game. Sherwood was all over them, crashing the boards, jumping at passes, and being relentless on the Blues’ defense.

In the third period, the Blues looked a little bit better, but they earned a penalty, which caused them to go on the penalty kill and nearly give up a goal. With about five minutes left in the game, defenseman Tyler Tucker’s reckless pass bounced off the boards and headed towards the slot. It was one of many high-danger chances the Blues gave up against the Canucks and is something they need to fix moving forward.

Snuggerud Notches Two Goals

If one player stood out, as previously referenced as a factor in the Blues’ bottom-six performance, it was Snuggerud. The last two games were quiet from a goal standpoint, and playing on the top two lines only resulted in one assist from him.

Head coach Jim Montgomery may have found the killer line combination he needed to get Snuggerud going and add an extra scoring piece to their offense. Finishing the game with six shots, the most by any Blues forward, he was focused on the puck throughout the game. He did not take a single poor shot, and all of his attempts contributed somewhat, even though he scored on only two of them.