The St. Louis Blues will refocus on their checking game when they resume play Thursday at home against the New Jersey Devils.
The Blues posted a 9-4-0 record between the holiday break and the NHL All-Star break. They are 17-5-2 overall at home this season and 14-2-1 in their last 17 games at Enterprise Center.
Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo said there is more work to do, however, after the Blues dropped a 4-1 decision to the Winnipeg Jets at home in their previous game on Jan. 29.
“We want to grow into a rock-solid defensive team,” Bortuzzo said. “I think we know that we have the high-end offense. We can beat you different ways, whether it’s in the (offensive) zone or off the rush. To a man we can dedicate ourselves to the other side of the puck.”
The Blues come out of the break in fourth place in the Central Division. They would be in the bracket if the playoffs started this week, but a battle for postseason berths looms down the stretch.
“You want to get better at it all year,” Bortuzzo said. “It’s no different after the All-Star break and going into the last stretch. The competitiveness and intensity of the game are going to elevate and I believe we have the group to match that.”
The Devils should come into this game with some momentum after routing the Canadiens 7-1 on Tuesday in Montreal. That snapped a seven-game losing streak.
“To try to build on it and play the same way,” Devils defenseman Ryan Graves said. “St. Louis is a good team so we’re going to have to keep building on that. We had a bit of sloppy play for a bit there, and we definitely gave up some chances.”
The Devils are in last place in the Metropolitan Division. They have lost 10 of their last 12 games and they are 6-15-2 overall on the road.
Star defenseman Dougie Hamilton is recovering from a broken jaw, top center Jack Hughes is in COVID-19 protocol, No. 1 goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood has been shelved by a heel injury and backup netminder Jonathan Bernier sustained a season-ending hip injury.
So they needed their spirit-lifting victory in Montreal.
“We haven’t had a lot of breaks recently, and I thought tonight we got some,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “We deserved a lot of the goals we got. We had good net front presence, rebound goals, second opportunity goals, the stuff we’ve been talking about. I thought our defense and our motion inside the offensive zone really helped us.”
The Blues are almost back to full strength, with only rookie defenseman Scott Perunovich (upper body) out of the lineup.
Blues coach Craig Berube, who signed a three-year contract extension on Wednesday, rode hot goaltender Ville Husso (9-3-1, 1.90 goals-against average) before the break. Berube gave him five of the last six starts.
Berube, however, likely will try to get Stanley Cup-winning netminder Jordan Binnington (11-9-3, 3.27 GAA) back on track for the stretch run at some point.
–Field Level Media