Winners and losers: Sharks take home opener in overtime

The St. Louis Blues fans packed the Enterprise Center for the 2026-27 home opener and did their job cheering and chanting their home team in hopes of a win after 60 minutes of play. Unfortunately, the home team could not hold up their end of it.

The Blues led twice in the opener, stopped checking, shooting, and walked out with one point after Sharks defenseman Darnell Nurse beat Blues goaltender Joel Hofer 1:03 into overtime, winning 3-2 and putting the Blues into a 1-2-1 record to start their season.

Winners

Dillon Dube
Fourth line winger, Dillon Dube had an "I'll do it myself" moment when he skated the shorthanded goal from his own blue line 1:39 into the third period, scoring his first goal in the NHL since Nov. 16, 2023.

The penalty kill
The Sharks went 0-for-4 on the power play and the Blues continue their hot start to the season when playing down a man. After the game, Blues defenseman Cam Fowler noted that it has been a collective effort leading to their success on the penalty kill. "We're letting the goalies see the puck, and that's everybody. That's not just the defensemen."

McMichael-McTavish-Berggren
The McMichael line managed the only even-strength goal of the game as Connor McMichael now has goals in back-to-back games, off Mason McTavish and Jonatan Berggren. McTavish added five shots and was 10-for-18 on the faceoff dot. Berggren picked up his first point of the season and was praised by Montgomery after the game.

"Ever since we put Berggren up with those two, that line's been our best line for two games in a row. Generating the most chances, controlling the game."

McMichael called the fit a breath of fresh air and that the trio have been bouncing things off each other and finding good results.

Losers

The one-goal lead
After the game, Montgomery noted that his team needs to be comfortable winning 2-1. "It's like we want to try and win 3 or 4-1, and it's the mistakes we made that allowed them to score that second goal and then end up in overtime, and anything can happen in 3-on-3."

The group stopped skating and stopped checking and making life difficult on the Sharks, and ultimately used the momentary lull in the Blues' game to take advantage and tie the game.

Robert Thomas and the top line
Montgomery's harsh comment about the team's lack of offense was one that will hopefully speak volumes for his team. "Right now, if we fell out of a boat and we were trying to score a goal, we would not hit the ocean, and it's causing problems. There's frustration coming because we're not scoring, and it's hard to stick with the process when you're getting frustrated."

The Blues' captain played 20:37, finished with a minus-2 rating, had two shots and three misses, and was on the ice for both the tying goal and the winner. He and Holloway entered the night still looking for their first points. Holloway was a minus-1 with two shots. Jimmy Snuggerud had one shot in 17:12.