NEW YORK — The St. Louis Blues are 1-0-0 in the Jim Montgomery era.

During a 5-2 win over the Rangers on Monday night, the Blues did not resemble the team that shuffled through the first 22 games of the young season.

They were active in shooting the puck, launching a season-high 43 on Igor Shesterkin. They were possessing pucks. They were drawing penalties. They were turning the Rangers over. They were driving play in the third period.

They got two goals from Zack Bolduc, while Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich (empty net) also scored for the Blues. Joel Hofer made 27 saves to earn his first win in more than a month.

Will Cuylle scored two goals for the Rangers.

Through two periods, the Blues racked up 31 shots on goal. That was the most for St. Louis through two periods all season. Only once did the Blues have more than 31 shots in an entire game entering Monday's contest.

The Blues will finish their three-game road trip on Wednesday night against the Devils.

Bolduc’s eventful night

In the first game under Montgomery, Bolduc was back in the Blues lineup after he was a scratch Saturday against the Islanders. He responded with his first two goals of the season and by taking two minor penalties in the same game for the first time in his NHL career.

Bolduc scored at 4:30 of the second period, a goal that gave the Blues a 2-1 lead. It came on the tail end of a good shift from Bolduc’s line (with Dylan Holloway and Oskar Sundqvist) that allowed offensive-zone possession time and for Bolduc to eventually shuffle home a rebound of Radek Faksa’s shot.

Bolduc had not scored since April 12, back when the Blues were experimenting with giving Bolduc more ice time and a larger role with top-six linemates and he scored in three straight games.

Bolduc added another in the third period, extending the Blues lead to 4-2 at 8:23. Bolduc picked up a puck around the net, a rebound of Colton Parayko's shot on goal. The goal came on his fifth shot on goal of the evening.

In the first period, Bolduc was called for tripping Artemi Panarin. In the second, he was whistled for cross-checking Sam Carrick. On the bench after the cross-checking penalty, it appeared Montgomery was preaching to Bolduc how he wanted him to defend there with his stick instead of laying a cross-check in the corner.

Cuylle gets a pair

Cuylle was an unlikely player to enter Monday night on pace to score 30 goals, and he upped that forecast with two goals against the Blues.

Cuylle scored 8:47 into the game, as he outboxed Scott Perunovich at the net front and had a puck glance off his left skate and through Hofer. Perunovich tried to kick the puck away from the net front but whiffed, and the puck got through to Cuylle.

Kyrou tied the game at 1 with 8:15 left in the first period, finishing a feed from Schenn to the slot. Schenn won the puck in the corner with a strong forecheck, stripping Jacob Trouba of the puck and waiting for Kyrou to find open space in the slot.

It was Kyrou's seventh goal of the season, tying him with Jake Neighbours for the most on the team.

Bolduc gave the Blues a 2-1 in the second period, and Cuylle tied it at 2 at 7:20 of the second. Cuylle won a battle with Matthew Kessel in the corner and then finished at the back post after Kessel dislodged Hofer's stick and Pierre-Olivier Joseph skated around the net instead of to the post.

Monday night fireworks

At the end of the second period, the two teams took a while to leave the ice after a scrum in the corner of the Blues zone. The period ended with Parayko shoving Cuylle to the ice along the boards, then finishing his check on top of Cuylle. After the horn sounded at the end of the period, Cuylle went back at Parayko, and the five skaters on the ice all grabbed a dance partner.

After it died down, Cuylle appeared to be poking Hofer’s stick, to which Neighbours took exception. Matt Rempe, the Rangers’ resident 6-foot-9 tough guy, approached Neighbours, which resulted in officials shoving Rempe off the ice and down the tunnel to the Rangers’ dressing room.

Then Hofer and Shesterkin made contact at the red line, as each netminder had to skate nearly the length of the ice to get back to their rooms for intermission. Shesterkin, already with his mask off, then turned to Hofer before officials grabbed hold of both netminders.

Both teams separated before any further confrontations occurred. Neighbours and Cuylle were each called for unsportsmanlike conduct, and the two teams opened the third period at four on four.

Rempe earned a roughing minor in the third period for laying out Neighbours with a hit away from the puck.

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