Jim Montgomery finally reached for the lineup blender, but the timing raises a real question: was this the right moment to shake up the St. Louis Blues?
After back-to-back games without scoring, Montgomery changed the look of his top three forward lines. Jeremy Rutherford reported the new combinations on Tuesday, with Neighbours-Thomas-Snuggerud on the first line, Buchnevich-McTavish-Berggren on the second, and Holloway-Dvorsky-McMichael on the third.
Montgomery explained the move Wednesday by saying the staff had been patient and that it was simply time to try something different in search of a spark. That response makes sense on one level. A 5-6-1 start doesn’t leave much room for comfort.
Still, the better argument is that the Blues probably should have waited. This is happening against Boston, a strong opponent, and it comes in the final game of a five-game homestand. New combinations often take time to settle in, and against a top-seeded team that learning curve can be costly.
There’s also a case that the Blues don’t need to panic. According to Moneypuck.com, they’re generating 2.57 Expected Goals For per 60 minutes, which ranks 13th in the NHL. That’s not the profile of a team that needs to scrap everything and start over.
And if there was ever a game that suggested the offense was closer than the scoreboard showed, it was the Montreal outing. The Blues fired 46 shots on net, their first time getting past the 40-shot mark in nearly a season and a half.
They still came away empty-handed, but the story there was Jacob Fowler having the game of his life and St. Louis getting goalied.
Five players logged five or more shot attempts in that game, and plenty of those looks came from the medium-to-high danger area. There were crease scrambles, blocked chances, pucks smothered, and rebounds that bounced away from danger. It was the kind of night where the offense did a lot right and still had nothing to show for it.
That’s why the line shuffle feels a little too aggressive right now. Sure, tightening the leash and asking for more from the top nine makes sense. Completely rearranging the group after a strong shot-volume performance feels like a bigger swing than the situation demands.
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