Takeaways from the Blues’ Overtime Loss in Toronto

A little bit of luck went the Blues’ way early. A puck bounced in front of the net, and William Nylander tried to bat it out of the air, only to accidentally send it into his own net. Nathan Walker was credited with the goal, even though it wasn’t a registered shot on net.

Allowing Traffic in Front of the Net

The Maple Leafs didn’t take long to respond, as Jake McCabe scored from the point to tie it 1–1. While it was a well-placed shot in the top corner, Binnington never really had a chance with the screen in front. Dakota Joshua stood unchecked right in front of Binnington, and no one even challenged him. This has become a recurring problem for the Blues, allowing players to camp in front of the net without consequence.

PP and PK Success

The Blues’ penalty kill was outstanding, successfully killing all three of Toronto’s power plays. One of those was a four-minute double minor by Tucker, and in that time, the Maple Leafs managed just two shots on net.

The power play has been strong for St. Louis all season, and they were able to convert once in three chances during this game. Dalibor Dvorsky ripped a one-timer, set up by Robert Thomas, to tie it 2–2 in the second period. This marked Dvorsky’s third power-play goal of the season.

The Blues completely turned the momentum with their power plays. After all three opportunities, St. Louis outshot the Maple Leafs 16–3, clearly taking advantage. Just because they didn’t score on all of them doesn’t change the fact that they flipped the script.

Lost Board Battles

The Blues have struggled to win puck battles along the boards, and that issue showed up again in overtime. St. Louis had Buchnevich and Broberg pinning John Tavares on the boards, while Holloway stood off to the side. Despite already being on the ice for 1:36, Tavares made a perfect pass to Morgan Rielly with his feet, who then set up Nylander for a highlight reel goal. This was a puck battle the Blues had no business losing.

Head coach Jim Montgomery gave his thoughts on it after the game:

“We doubled up in the corner and we weren’t able to win the battle. I know it’s a high-end player but we’ve got to win the battle. We had won a lot of battles during the game and that was one that cost us the game.”

Jordan Kyrou Showed Hustle

In the loss, Kyrou was very noticeable with his hustle. He didn’t record any points, but he kept firing shots throughout the game, leading the team with six shots and several more attempts that missed the net or were blocked. His speed was also evident, constantly moving north to south, and after a strong push through the middle, he was always back in position on defense.

Overall

The Blues are at least leaving Toronto with a point, but “at least a point” isn’t enough anymore. St. Louis is 0-5 in overtime this season, with two of those losses coming in shootouts.

The team showed heart and hustle in this game. After being dominated in the early periods, they were able to shift the momentum in their favor. But to win, you have to capitalize on that momentum, and the Blues weren’t able to do it.

This was the first of five straight road games, and the Blues will need to find a way to respond if they want to turn things around.