ST. LOUIS – Auston Matthews missed out on hat trick history in St. Louis, but he burned the Blues with a late go-ahead goal, paving the way for a 4-2 Toronto Maple Leafs win on Monday.
The Blues, after winning seven of eight in a stretch around the NHL’s All-Star break, have since lost three of their last four games. That includes two losses over the past week to the Maple Leafs.
“We didn’t win a game because we made mistakes that ended up in the back our net,” said interim head coach Drew Bannister. “In tight games like that, we have to do a better job of situations, whether it’s PK [penalty kill] or power play. We have better awareness and make better plays.”
St. Louis still holds a playoff spot after Monday’s loss, but their grip on it has loosened. The Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild are only two points behind with the same number of games played.
Bannister cites three mistakes that proved costly to the Blues gaining ground in Monday’s matinee. On the first goal allowed, St. Louis was out of position on puck play. On the second goal allowed, the Maple Leafs scored quickly into a power play. On the third goal, the Maple Leafs forced a turnover and scored short-handed.
“We made three mistakes, and they made us pay for them,” said Bannister.
Matthews, on pace for a potential Top-10 NHL all-time scoring season with 75 goals, capitalized on the mistakes just about as much as anyone. Nearly one week after the Blues held him scoreless in Toronto, he found top form and set the tone offensively on two momentum-changing goals.
Matthews found Matthew Knies open for the game’s first goal in the second period, then scored Toronto’s second goal in the third. Both goals came on the power play, broke a tie and found the back of the net in the first minute of a period.
Matthews came into the game on back-to-back hat tricks, an accomplishment he’s attained twice this season. No one in NHL history has ever scored a hat trick in three consecutive team games.
Matthews missed a chance at that history, but he scored his NHL-leading 49th.
“We had a good effort today,” said Matthews. “First period was kind of stagnant. We didn’t know what was going on. We picked it up in the second. It was a solid game on all four lines.”
He feels satisfied with the effort, especially given that Toronto has won four straight without veteran defenseman Morgan Reilly, amid a lengthy suspension.
“We’re missing a very key piece to our team and our defensive core. It’s knowing we have to step up collectively and do a job. Guys are going to come in playing more minutes, and getting moved up in the line. When you have that, it’s great to see, and it gives us confidence as a team.”
Despite Matthews’ big day, the Blues have kept many of the league’s top scorers in check, or at least limited damage, for much of the season. Among the NHL’s top 10 scorers, all who have faced the Blues at least once to this point, only half have scored at least one goal against the Blues. Only Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov and Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen have two. None of the Top 10 scorers this season have more than three goals against St. Louis this season.
Bannister says it’s a testament to the Blues doing certain things right to win the game, but not enough on a consistent basis to end up on top.
“We’re putting ourselves in a position to win those hockey games, but now we have to find ways,” said Bannister. “It is disappointing. Certainly, it is going to be disappointment. We have to find a way to turn it around.”
Prior to addressing the game, Bannister spoke in depth of how compete and accountability have improved with the Blues since taking over the coach’s seat, but notes there is more room for consistency and improvement. More on that coming in a future FOX 2 report.
The Blues end a four-game homestand on Thursday with a home matchup against the New York Islanders.
