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St. Louis Blues head coach Jim Montgomery addresses the way he’d like to see forward Robert Thomas’s role change and improve on the ice. (Video courtesy of St. Louis Blues)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Tuesday night’s game in Vancouver looked like a potential turning point for the Blues.
A win over the Canucks would give the Blues an undoubtedly successful western Canadian road trip. A loss would send them home with a split on the four-game trip.
The Blues are going home happy with a 4-3 overtime win over the Canucks.
Dylan Holloway scored the game-winning goal for St. Louis with 3:20 remaining in overtime. That goal followed Jake Debrusk’s tying goal with an extra attacker with 1:52 left in the third period that knotted it at 3.
“It’s sticking to our process and staying in the moment knowing that this trip being 3-1 is a big difference than 2-2,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said before the game. “Stick to our habits and our details, and we’ll let the results take care of itself.”
Zack Bolduc, Robert Thomas (shorthanded) and Jordan Kyrou (power play) scored for the Blues.
St. Louis previously won in Winnipeg and Calgary on this trip before falling to Edmonton.
The Blues will host the Sharks on Thursday night before traveling to face the Stars on Saturday in Dallas.
Thomas helped the Blues open a 3-1 lead in the second period thanks to a pair of plays during special teams.
With 2:30 left in the first period, Thomas scored the team’s first shorthanded goal of the season, burying a breakaway with a sharp shot to the far side. Pavel Buchnevich won a puck battle along the wall, and then Colton Parayko’s chip escaped Conor Garland in the neutral zone, allowing Thomas to skate in unmolested. The goal gave the Blues a 2-1 lead.
St. Louis doubled that lead in the second period when Kyrou scored with 3:42 remaining on the power play. Thomas picked up the primary assist when he found Kyrou with a cross-ice feed for a one-timer.
The Blues were on the power play because Vancouver’s Brock Boeser was called for a phantom tripping call on Parayko when Parayko appeared to lose an edge.
Vancouver cut the Blues lead to 3-2 with 1:28 left in the second, capitalizing on Brayden Schenn’s holding penalty. Elias Pettersson was credited with the goal when his pass to the back post deflected off Parayko’s stick.
The sequence followed a wild series of events in which Hofer lost his stick, but fought to make saves, Buchnevich broke his stick and shadowed Quinn Hughes, and Thomas’ attempted clear didn’t exit the zone. All four Blues skaters were on the ice for 1:12 when Pettersson scored.
Former Blues forward Dakota Joshua scored his first goal of the season on Tuesday night, driving the net on the rush to finish a feed from Garland. Garland and Joshua were set up on a 2 on 1 after Ryan Suter couldn’t play the puck or the man immediately after he jumped on the ice from the bench.
Suter hesitated changing when Parayko skated to the bench, and actually hopped back on the boards to avoid a potential too many men penalty. That left Justin Faulk as the only defensemen to deal with Garland and Joshua, and Joshua gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead 8:02 into the first period.
Joshua played 42 NHL games for the Blues during his three seasons in the St. Louis organization. He’s in his third season in Vancouver after signing a four-year contract with a $3.25 million cap hit over the summer as a pending unrestricted free agent.
Seventy-three seconds after Joshua scored to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead, the Blues responded with Zack Bolduc’s fourth goal of the season. All of Bolduc’s goals have come since Montgomery was named coach about two weeks ago.
Bolduc scored when Dylan Holloway picked off an attempted pass on the boards by Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko. Holloway waited for Bolduc to find a soft spot in the slot, and then dished him the puck for him to hammer.
The assist extended Holloway’s point streak to seven games, a career-high for the first-year Blues forward. Entering Tuesday, the only player in the NHL with a longer active point streak was Vegas forward Mark Stone (eight).
For Vancouver, Demko was starting his first game of the season due to a lower-body injury that forced him to miss the beginning of the season. Bolduc and Matthew Kessel tested Demko early with quality looks at the net.
“We’ve got to make it hard on him, that we have people and pucks going to the blue paint on him,” Montgomery said before the game. “That’s the hardest thing to replicate for a goaltender is how quick the people attack your net.”
Linesmen Ryan Gibbons (58) and Travis Toomey (90) try to separate Vancouver Canucks’ Vincent Desharnais (73) and St. Louis Blues’ Robert Thomas (18) as they get into a scuffle during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks’ Kiefer Sherwood, right, reaches for the puck in front of St. Louis Blues’ Philip Broberg during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
St. Louis Blues’ Philip Broberg, left, and Vancouver Canucks’ Kiefer Sherwood collide during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko makes a save against the St. Louis Blues during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks’ Kiefer Sherwood, right, and St. Louis Blues’ Philip Broberg collide as Vancouver’s Nils Hoglander (21) watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko makes a save against the St. Louis Blues during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
St. Louis Blues’ Matt Kessel, from left to right, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Zack Bolduc and Dylan Holloway celebrate Bolduc’s goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Linesmen Ryan Gibbons (58) and Travis Toomey (90) try to separate Vancouver Canucks’ Vincent Desharnais (73) and St. Louis Blues’ Robert Thomas (18) as they get into a scuffle during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko (35) watches the puck bounce back out of the net after allowing a goal to St. Louis Blues’ Zack Bolduc, not seen, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
St. Louis Blues’ Matt Kessel, from left to right, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Zack Bolduc and Dylan Holloway celebrate Bolduc’s goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko (35) watches the puck bounce back out of the net after allowing a goal to St. Louis Blues’ Zack Bolduc, not seen, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes (43) falls as St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Kyrou (25) stickhandles away from him during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks’ Dakota Joshua, left, scores against St. Louis Blues goalie Joel Hofer (30) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko (35) stops St. Louis Blues’ Dylan Holloway (81) as Vancouver’s Noah Juulsen (47) checks him during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko (35) stops St. Louis Blues’ Dylan Holloway (81) as Vancouver’s Noah Juulsen (47) checks him during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks’ Elias Pettersson (40) and Brock Boeser (6) celebrate Pettersson’s goal against the St. Louis Blues during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko (35) allows a goal to St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Kyrou, not seen, as Vancouver’s Tyler Myers (57) defends and St. Louis’ Jake Neighbours, back right, watches during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko, back left, dives back into the crease after making a save as Max Sasson (63), Noah Juulsen (47) and Carson Soucy (7) look on during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues in Vancouver, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
St. Louis Blues’ Nathan Walker (26) checks Vancouver Canucks’ Max Sasson (63) as Noah Juulsen (47) watches and Danton Heinen (20) looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko skates to the corner during a stoppage in play during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues in Vancouver, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko (35) makes the save as St. Louis Blues’ Dylan Holloway (81) tries to redirect the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues head coach Jim Montgomery addresses the way he’d like to see forward Robert Thomas’s role change and improve on the ice. (Vide…
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