Jim Montgomery's St. Louis Blues are showing no signs of backing down against the Presidents' Trophy Winner Winnipeg Jets. Their 5-2 win against the Jets in Game 6 on Friday helped them avoid getting eliminated from the first round.
Speaking to reporters postgame, head coach Jim Montgomery talked about their strategy.
"We utilized our speed and our physicality," Montgomery said. "...we were able to be physical down low, we were able to skate with some speed through the neutral zone, and we were really committed to getting to the net front again.
"Those first couple of goals, they’re really good screen goals. That (Radek) Faksa line was dominant tonight," he added.
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St. Louis scored four goals in nearly five minutes and outplayed Connor Hellebuyck, scoring five goals on 23 shots. Following the second-period disaster, he was replaced by Eric Comrie for the third period. The Blues are now 3-0 at home in the series and have won 15 straight home games since Feb. 23.
Heading into Game 7 at Canada Life Centre, the Jets' home arena, Montgomery wants the team to be active around the net. They have used this strategy to beat goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who was the best regular-season goalie in the league with 47 wins. Now, he is struggling with a 4.42 GAA and a .815 save percentage.
"We’re on to the next game," Montgomery said. "Just like when we lose Game 5, we’re on to the next game. We have to...bring that attitude... trying to create chaos at their netfront, trying to create chaos with our speed and our physicality."
Blues goalie Jordan Binnington made 21 saves and has a GAA of 2.54 in this series. Binnington has played with confidence since winning the 4 Nations Face-off championship for Canada.
St. Louis Blues outshot Jets in first period
The St. Louis Blues entered the game with a clear mindset and outshot the Winnipeg Jets 8-2 in the first period. The same strategy was clear with Philip Broberg's goal in the first period. However, Cole Perfetti tied it with a power-play goal in the second period.
But the Blues' offensive onslaught came soon after. Nathan Walker made it 2-1, Brayden Schenn added the third, Cam Fowler scored the fourth and Alexey Toropchenko made it 5-1.
Entering the third period, St. Louis had a 5-1 lead. Nino Niederreiter scored in the third on a power-play rebound for the final 5-2 score.
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