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Blues coach Jim Montgomery speaks with the media on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, after an overtime loss in Florida to the Panthers. (Video courtesy St. Louis Blues)
SUNRISE, Fla. — By the time Aleksander Barkov forced Joel Hofer to stare at the Amerant Bank Arena ceiling with 16.2 seconds left in overtime, Barkov had already terrorized the Blues during a 2-1 OT loss to the Panthers on Friday night.
He controlled his limited minutes against fellow No. 1 center Robert Thomas. He won 14 of his 24 faceoffs. During a marathon 2:28 shift in overtime, Barkov dispossessed Jordan Kyrou of the puck in the slot, did it again at the blue line, pestered Dylan Holloway into the neutral zone, stole the puck from Brayden Schenn, deked Holloway to the ice, went 1 on 3 in the Blues end, drew a tripping penalty on Schenn, and then ended the game on the ensuing power play.
Barkov left Hofer no other option than to dip his head back and affix his eyes skyward.
“High-end player, one of the best defensive players in the league made a high-end play,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “And then he made a great play on the power play.”
Barkov drew the penalty with 43.1 seconds left in overtime, then scored with 16.2 seconds remaining, sifting a shot above Thomas’ outstretched stick, around Cam Fowler’s unintentional screen, and under Hofer’s arm.
The goal sent the Blues to their third straight loss and their fifth in the last six games.
“I should’ve had it,” Hofer said. “The guys battled all night really well for me. I don’t know, he made a good shot.”
Barkov’s game-winning goal sullied an otherwise solid performance for the Blues, who picked up a point despite scoring just one goal for the fourth time in the last five games. Whenever the defending Cup champion Panthers seized momentum, it was wearing royal, navy and white soon afterward.
Oskar Sundqvist scored for the Blues in a first period controlled by the Panthers. Uvis Balinskis scored for the Panthers in a second period controlled by the Blues. The third period teetered up and down. The Blues pushed. The Panthers shoved. The Blues poked. The Panthers prodded.
Both teams finished the evening with 27 shots on goal. Both drew two penalties. Across 2 1/2 minutes in overtime, the biggest difference between the two teams was that one employed Barkov and the other did not.
“I think we took a big step as a group, playing for each other, playing connected,” Sundqvist said. “We’re going up against a really good hockey team and it’s a game that can go either way. I think we played really good tonight.”
Friday night could have been used as a barometer for a Blues team in a much different part of their cycle than a Panthers team that has a Presidents’ Trophy, Eastern Conference championship and Stanley Cup championship in the last three seasons. They’re a team that bounced Montgomery’s Boston teams in each of the last two postseasons, then raised a banner on opening night in front of him.
“In order to hold that team to 25 shots or whatever we did and to have 24 of your own, you’ve got to play real good hockey,” Montgomery said. “That’s the positive. The next step is coming out on top of games like that.”
The shot totals at the end of regulation were 26 for Florida and 24 for St. Louis.
Winning has been tough to come by for the goal-skimming Blues in recent games. They were encouraged by their overall game in Tampa, but they lost to the Lightning. They were pleased to go toe to toe in Sunrise, but they lose in overtime to the Panthers. Hanging on to a win over the Rangers on Dec. 15 is the only thing keeping the Blues from staring at a six-game losing streak.
Friday night was the team’s 11th game of the season scoring one or fewer goals, which is tied for the most in the NHL.
And when a team has failed to score as regularly as the Blues have, then mistakes get magnified. Like Jake Neighbours icing the puck, and then losing coverage of Balinskis on the ensuing faceoff that resulted in a goal. Or like Schenn’s overtime turnover during his appearance on The Barkov Show. Or Holloway’s pair of near-misses in overtime that could have given the Blues an extra point.
Less scoring just means less margin for error.
“We’re trending,” Hofer said. “We’re not getting all the wins right now, but we’re battling and competing against real good teams. It sucks now, but I think in the long run, it’s going to really benefit us.”
The Blues aren’t supposed to be on par with the Panthers, not at this point in the team’s transition to a younger core. But St. Louis does believe it should be contending for a Western Conference playoff spot that slips further away with more and more decent-enough-but-not-good-enough performances.
Now at 15-16-4, the Blues are on pace for 79.7 points this season. In order to reach the typical cutoff of 95 points, the Blues would need to play at a 106-point pace across the final 47 games of the season.
Nevertheless, Friday’s game in Florida offered a hint of what Montgomery sees in the Blues’ future.
“It’s about what we can do and what we can be,” Montgomery said. “Now, it’s about being able to replicate this for the majority of our games. Everybody has their off nights, but 95% of our games got to look like that. If we do, we’re going to score more, we’re going to win more games.”
Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling, left, and Blues forward Jake Neighbours go for the puck during the first period Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla.
St. Louis Blues center Jordan Kyrou (25) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis (26) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, left, defends the goal against St. Louis Blues center Jordan Kyrou (25) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) and defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) defend the goal against St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk, right, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
St. Louis Blues center Oskar Sundqvist (70) reacts after scoring a goal against Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
St. Louis Blues center Oskar Sundqvist reacts after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
St. Louis Blues center Dylan Holloway (81) falls to the ice as he collides with Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
St. Louis Blues center Radek Faksa (12) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (7) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) and St. Louis Blues center Dylan Holloway (81) go for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis, second from left, is congratulated after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The puck gets past St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer on a goal scored by Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer (30) defends the goal against Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer (30) and defenseman Ryan Suter (22) defend the goal against Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
St. Louis Blues center Dylan Holloway (81) and Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich (12) fall to the ice during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) reacts after center Aleksander Barkov scored the winning goal against St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer (30) during overtime in an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) and center Aleksander Barkov (16) embrace after Barkov scored the winning goal during overtime in an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The puck gets past St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer (30) for a goal by Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (not shown) during overtime in an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) stands with teammates after scoring the winning goal during overtime in an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
St. Louis Blues head coach Jim Montgomery, rear, right, reacts during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich (48) and Florida Panthers left wing Tomas Nosek (92) go for the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) hands his hockey stick to a fan after being named the star of the game after an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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Blues coach Jim Montgomery speaks with the media on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, after an overtime loss in Florida to the Panthers. (Video courtesy …
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