NEW YORK — St. Louis Blues fans aren’t the only ones surprised to see Jim Montgomery behind their bench less than a week after being fired by the Boston Bruins.
On Monday night at Madison Square Garden, referees Pierre Lambert and Michael Markovic were equally befuddled.
“It was funny,” Montgomery said. “The two referees looked at me and just started laughing before the game.”
A few hours later, Montgomery and his new coaching staff were shaking hands and celebrating an impressive 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers.
Zack Bolduc scored his first two of the season, and Joel Hofer made 27 saves for his first in a month, and the Blues earned their first regulation win since Nov. 5.
Of course, there’s a bump that teams get when they change coaches, and Monday’s game was no different.
“Yeah for sure,” Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. “You want to play hard for your new coach and get him a win. That’s a natural feeling with a change and the group wanting to play hard for him.”
But after the Blues presented Montgomery with a souvenir puck for his first victory, captain Brayden Schenn said the start of a new era felt like something more.
“It’s just an easy transition with him in the locker room just because guys know him,” he said. “What I really respect about him, (is) he brought a lot out of all of us when he was here (as an assistant coach), myself included.
“So guys are going to play hard for him, and it’s nice to see him get his first win as the Blues head coach. It felt like we were having fun out there — that’s the main part. We played with energy tonight. It was fun to be out there.”
Here are three takeaways from Montgomery’s first game …
A season-high in shots
The Blues finished with 43 shots on goal and 71 attempts, including those that were blocked (16) or missed the net (12).
How did they do it?
“Threw players over the boards,” Montgomery said. “I mean, we’ve got some talent. This is a talented roster. We’ve got a lot of guys with really good offensive hockey sense, and if we’re committed to checking like we were, the offense is going to come. We were really connected and we were really intelligent with our puck management.”
Well, it was a little more than just throwing players over the boards.
“We did a good job of pre-scouting them,” Neighbours said. “They were little tweaks that led to more possession of the puck and more sustained offensive-zone time. Early in the first (period), we figured out what was working and just stuck with it. They didn’t seem to adjust to it. We created a lot of shots from it, so a lot of offense.”
The Blues had 15 shots in the first period, which was the second-highest total they’ve had in the opening period this season. They added 16 more in the second period, and with 12 in the third period, they topped their previous season high of 40 in a 5-4 overtime victory over the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 10. The total included nine shots on the much-maligned power play.
Now your see him… now you don’t 🪄 pic.twitter.com/giPvc6pEhU
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 26, 2024
The Blues’ five goals Monday were the most since their 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 24, a span of 16 games.
“We’re not going to be as good as we were offensively every night,” Montgomery said. “We could have had eight (goals) tonight. (New York Rangers goalie Igor) Shesterkin played well.”
Zack Bolduc with a breakout game
In 16 games this season before Monday, Blues forward Zack Bolduc had no goals and just 15 shots on net. In the win over the Rangers, he had two goals and a team-high seven shots.
“That could’ve been one of the better games I’ve seen him play — not just the goals, but engaged and confident with the puck and making plays,” Schenn said. “He played the right way, so nice to see him get rewarded.”
Bolduc was happy to hear the compliment from the captain.
“Yeah, well, it’s always nice when guys are making comments like this,” he said. “I felt good on the ice. My legs were good and all the team played a good game, so it makes the job so much easier.”
That’s Zack TWO-GOALduc, actually pic.twitter.com/PI4S78jzk0
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 26, 2024
At the morning skate Monday, Bolduc was one of several players with whom Montgomery had individual chats.
“Just a little talk,” Bolduc recalled. “For me, it was just about skating, be confident with the puck and make some plays.”
And those were the exact areas where Montgomery said Bolduc excelled in the game.
“I thought he was really good, held onto pucks, made plays,” Montgomery said. “I loved how he pressured pucks, created turnovers, and how he attacked the net.”
There were some teaching moments, too.
In the second period, after giving the Blues a 2-1 lead with his first goal of the game, he took his second penalty of the game for cross-checking.
When Bolduc returned to the Blues’ bench after serving the minor, Montgomery gave him a suggestion on how to handle that situational play in the future.
“He seems like a guy who gives a lot of feedback when you’re coming to the bench,” Bolduc said. “He said, ‘You’ve got to be careful, maybe hit him with my stick a bit lower in his back.’ But the game is pretty fast and you’ve just got to be careful.”
Overall, it was a breakout game for Bolduc, which Neighbours said should serve the 21-year-old well after having a few of those himself last season.
“I remember it was a big weight off your shoulders,” Neighbours said. “It can be hard sometimes, but Boldy is one of the most positive guys every day at the rink. He comes to the rink with a great attitude and puts a lot of effort on his game and working for himself. It was only a matter of time until he started scoring, and the whole team is super happy for him that he gets two tonight in a big game. Hopefully he can take it and run.”
There will be a key, however, to running with it.
“For him, it’s about onto the next game,” Montgomery said. “Having a good practice tomorrow and mentally getting prepared like he did tonight. You’ve got to develop a routine that’s going to give you success night in and night out in this league. It’s a hard league, but obviously the talent is there.”
Team togetherness
There were several occasions under former Blues coach Drew Bannister that the players stuck up for one another. But it was very noticeable in Montgomery’s debut on Monday.
In the second period, the Blues’ Colton Parayko and Rangers’ Will Cuylle bumped into each other, bringing both teams together in the corner. Then Cuylle was seen poking the stick of Hofer, which got the attention of Neighbours, who had words with both him and the Rangers’ Matt Rempe.
“I thought what we did at the end of the second staying together, that builds a trust and a bond a caring in the locker room that translates to being on the ice,” Montgomery said. “I think we witnessed that.”
In the third period, Rempe laid a massive hit on Neighbours that dropped him to the ice. Rempe received a two-minute roughing penalty.
“I don’t like that hit,” Montgomery said. “But I love how tough Jake Neighbours is, and I loved how we responded afterwards.”
Neighbours was talking, too, about the team’s response after the game.
“We played hard for each other,” he said. “There was a lot of sacrifice for each other. It was fun to be a part of. You could tell the energy on the bench was good and guys were feeling it. If we play like that, we’re going to win more games than we lose.”
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
