Three takeaways from the Blues’ 4-3 overtime victory against the Flames

It wasn’t the cleanest game of the Jim Montgomery era as coach of the St. Louis Blues.

But the sign of a team’s maturity is when you can find a way to rack up points even if it’s not the best game.

The Blues found a way Thursday when they outshot the Calgary Flames 39-24, but Colton Parayko’s overtime game-winner was the difference in a 4-3 victory at Scotiabank. Saddledome.

Robert Thomas had a goal and two assists, including the first assist on Parayko’s game-winning fourth goal in overtime, which was a new Blues record for defenders.

Jordan Binnington, playing in his 300th NHL game, made 36 saves, Philip Broberg had two assists and recorded a career-high 26:51 and Dylan Holloway extended his point streak to five games (four goals, four assists) with an assist on Parayko’s goal in overtime.

The Blues (13-12-2), who continue the trip Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers before finishing Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks, kicked off with a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets last Tuesday; they are now 4-0-1 since Jim Montgomery took over as coach on November 24taking nine points out of 10 possible.

Here are the three takeaways from tonight:

* Offense hums under ‘Monty’ — Remember when the Blues struggled to score goals? Yes, it’s only a small sample size, but before Montgomery arrived, the Blues were 30th in the NHL averaging just 2.36 goals per game with no solution on the horizon.

Well, in the five games under Montgomery, they are tied for seventh with 3.6 goals per game, and in four of the five games the Blues have scored three or more and in three of the five, four or more, y including every match. this road trip.

The Blues didn’t have their best offensive foot in this game, but found a way, including a power play goal from Zack Bolduc:

*Jordan Binnington provided clutch goaltending – Sure, he allowed three for the game, but the Flames (13-9-5) seemed to pepper Binnington throughout the game.

He stopped 36 shots, including this redirection with less than a minute to go which could have been disastrous for the Blues:

The Blues seemed disjointed, especially in the third period where they were outshot 15-4, but Binnington, much like he did last Saturday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyersgave the team a chance to take a second point by ensuring there would be at least one.

* Commitment to blocking shots — Calgary came in with a volume mentality.

The Flames were driving pucks to the net and had a 75-47 edge on shot attempts, but the Blues blocked 21 shots in the game and had seven players with two or more (Broberg, Parayko, Radek Faksa, Ryan Suter , Matthew Kessel, Dylan Holloway and Pierre-Oliver Joseph).

So it wasn’t just one or two players sacrificing their bodies, it was a committee commitment, and Binnington certainly appreciated that.

* See and hear Montgomery players after the victory: