A coach’s breakdown of how the Blues are dominating the NHL right now

The St. Louis Blues are the hottest team in hockey, and with a 10-game winning streak, they’ve now solidified their spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since joining the Blues on Nov. 24, Head Coach Jim Montgomery is 32-16-6 with 70 points, and right now has them playing the best hockey we’ve seen all year, capped off with a 2-1 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night.

Robert Thomas leads the way with 69 points (19 goals and 50 assists) while Jordan Binnington has looked strong in the crease, posting a .919 save percentage in his last 13 appearances since the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he represented Canada and helped the group win the tournament championship.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and former NHL defenseman Colby Cohen are joined by former QMJHL head coach Jon Goyens to discuss how the Blues have improved defensively and become one of hockey’s best squads.

Frank Seravalli: Let’s start with how the Blues have defended off of the rush, maybe a Jim Montgomery staple. How or what have the Blues done to become a better team in that area that’s helped turn their season around?

Jon Goyens: It’s really simple. We covered the Blues Dec. 3 on this show, and it was about getting everybody on the same page, especially without the puck. Now when you look at how quickly they reload, how they own inside the dots and don’t play in a system where you always have to pressure, their defenders lead the way. They get back inside the dots and allow their forwards to kill plays in and around the red line, then the D are content with backing off a little bit and killing rushes.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…