The St. Louis Blues have been shut out in back-to-back games, forcing head coach Jim Montgomery to reshuffle his deck. St. Louis is 12 games into the season and still hasn’t really mixed up its line combinations, but the first major change comes ahead of Thursday night’s tilt with the Boston Bruins.
After being shut out in back-to-back home games, Montgomery spoke with the media after Wednesday’s practice. “This is the most patient I’ve been as a coach with my lines,” Montgomery told Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. “It’s 12 games where basically you’ve seen the same lines. The Thomas line isn’t producing like they were last year. Same thing with McTavish line. They started off really good, and last 5 games they have 1 goal. It’s just time to make changes to see if there’s a spark. So that’s why we’ve mixed up the top-three lines.”
St. Louis makes the changes ahead of their final game of the home stand. The Blues, who started slow last year, wanted to avoid a slow start, but here they are, a game under .500.
St. Louis Blues Forward Lines
Jake Neighbours – Robert Thomas – Jimmy Snuggerud
Pavel Buchnevich – Mason McTavish – Jonatan Berggren
Dylan Holloway – Dalibor Dvosky – Connor McMichael
Alexey Toropchenko -Pius Suter – Aleksanteri Kaskimaki
Holloway was handed a contract extension in May for five years and an average annual value of $7.75 million. This season, he has 10 points, but just three goals. He is on the top line to be a goal scorer, and maybe the shake is just what the doctor ordered for the winger.
Along with that, Montgomery alluded to the second line group of McTavish, Berggren, and McMichael struggling to keep the fire lit after an impressive start. McMichael has not found the back of the net since the fourth game of the season against the San Jose Sharks, and has just one point in the last six games.
Holloway and McMichael will together attempt to find a rhythm on the Blues’ third line.
St. Louis Blues Defense Pairings
Philip Broberg -Brandon Carlo
Cam Fowler – Colton Parayko
Justin Barron – Adam Jiricek
Broberg has been the Blues top defenseman all season, and with his contract looks like he will be for the foreseeable future. After a quick stint with Barron as the top-pair partner to Broberg, Carlo joined him for the game against the Montreal Canadiens.
During the homestand, Broberg was drawing comparisons to Alex Pietrangelo. Alex Ferrario of 101 ESPN in St. Louis said that Broberg “is that Alex Pietrangelo guy.” Something the team has been searching for since winning the Stanley Cup and eventually allowing Pietrangelo to depart St. Louis.
Joel Hofer Returns To Net For Bout With Boston Bruins
Joel Hofer will take his spot in the blue paint once again as the Blues continue to shift more and more of the starts in his direction. Jordan Binnington has made just four starts in the first 12 games of the season.
The Blues are getting into a rhythm of giving Hofer two of three starts in net as the Blues’ lead goaltender has started the season with a 2.40 goals-against average.
Hofer is 4-3-1 this season, and St. Louis is giving the keys to the net to their 26-year-old netminder.
Blues Make Significant Line Changes After Back To Back Shutouts