Jordan Kyrou scores twice as Joel Hofer, Blues beat Jets, 4-1

Matthew DeFranks, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Dec 3, 2024

Published in Hockey

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Before the Blues beat the Jets, 4-1, on Tuesday night, Jim Montgomery considered the new coach bump over.

St. Louis won its first two games, then squeaked out a point Saturday vs. the Flyers. So Montgomery felt the wave had already crested.

“To be honest, if there was a coach’s bump here, it wore off last game," Montgomery said on Tuesday morning. "That’s why it’s important that we start on time and we get back to the habits that we think (work) and the pace that we need to play with to try and have success in this league. Very humbling league if you don’t.”

Montgomery had to have been pleased with Tuesday's performance.

Jordan Kyrou scored twice, while Dylan Holloway and Robert Thomas (empty-netter) added a goal each as the Blues handed the Jets their fourth consecutive loss. Joel Hofer made 22 saves, his shutout bid spoiled by Jets forward Mark Scheifele's extra-attacker goal with 4:15 left in the third period.

It was Kyrou's first multi-goal game since the season opener in Seattle on Oct. 8. Kyrou's third-period turnaround shot through traffic gave the Blues a three-goal lead.

Winnipeg entered the night tied for the most points in the NHL and third in points percentage. But after a blistering 15-1-0 start, the Jets are now 3-7-0 in their past 10 games.

What did Montgomery want to see better on Tuesday than he did Saturday vs. the Flyers?

“Starting on time, being more connected," Montgomery said. "Our first three strides in transition towards both nets needs to be significantly better. We’ve got to manage our odd-man rushes against.”

The Blues continue their four-game road trip through Calgary on Thursday night.

Breaking through

The Blues scored two goals in 39 seconds in the final minutes of the second period, punctuating a dominant run for St. Louis.

Kyrou scored with 1:56 remaining in the period, working the puck home to finish a two-on-one rush with captain Brayden Schenn. Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck tried to poke check Kyrou, allowing the puck to slip past him after possibly being redirected by the skate of Scheifele.

Kyrou nearly scored earlier in the period when his shot snuck through Hellebuyck, but it was swept out of the crease by a Jets defender.

With 1:17 remaining in the second, Holloway doubled the Blues lead to continue his hot streak. Holloway followed his own rebound and roofed a shot past Hellebuyck to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead.

For Holloway, it extended his point streak to four games and was his fourth goal in that span. Holloway had two assists against the Rangers, two goals in New Jersey and a game-tying goal against Philadelphia before tallying on Tuesday night in Winnipeg.

Both goals came at four on four, the result of Radek Faksa drawing an interference penalty on the opening faceoff of a Jets power play (due to a Jake Neighbours tripping minor). Faksa drew the call on Gabriel Vilardi as he was trying to pressure the point while on the kill.

Overall in the second period, the Blues outshot the Jets 19-3. The 19 shots were the second-most in a period for St. Louis this season, and the plus-16 margin was the largest in a Blues period.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Blues generated 2.7 expected goals in the second period alone. There were 17 entire games this season that the Blues didn't reach that figure.

In addition to Kyrou's prime chances, Mathieu Joseph had a good look on a one-timer from the side of the net after a batted puck landed right on his stick.

Coming up big

Both goaltenders made big saves early on to keep the game goalless at the first intermission.

Less than three minutes into the game, Zack Bolduc had a partial breakaway on Hellebuyck but was denied by a blocker save. Bolduc was bidding for his third goal in his past four games.

Hofer answered about midway through the period by going post to post to stone a Kyle Connor one-timer from the right circle with his left pad. Moments later, Hofer stopped Josh Morrissey’s slap shot from the left wing.

Hofer is one of the league’s best puck-handling goaltenders but was almost burned during Tuesday’s first period. One mishandle squirted toward the net front, but Faksa cleared it to safety. Another pair of pucks were picked off by the Jets behind the Blues net.

Schenn laid the biggest hit of the period when he leveled Haydn Fleury behind the Jets net, popping Fleury’s helmet off in the process. There was no penalty on the play.

The Jets outshot the Blues 8-6 in the first period, but St. Louis had an edge in expected goals (0.79-0.73), according to Natural Stat Trick.