The St. Louis Blues finally snapped their four-game losing streak with a much-needed 3-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres Thursday night KeyBank Center. Behind a lockdown defensive effort and a dominant goaltending display, the win gave head coach Jim Montgomery exactly the kind of response he had been demanding from his group.
Backup goaltender Joel Hofer was the difference, stopping all 27 shots he faced for his third career NHL shutout and earning high praise from his head coach after the game. It was a turnaround performance just 24 hours after the Blues’ 6-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, a defeat that led Montgomery to scratch forward Jordan Kyrou as part of a team-wide accountability reset.
The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford shared the coach’s postgame comments on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account, where Montgomery praised the team’s improved effort and singled out his goaltender.
“I thought the majority of the game the effort was significantly better than yesterday. I thought the physicality was good. I liked the way we dug in. There were numerous blocked shots and our goaltender was our best player, and that's what you need on the road.”
Hofer’s composure was evident from the opening puck drop, with key saves on Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch helping the Blues settle into rhythm. Offensively, Mathieu Joseph scored a short-handed goal in the first period before assisting on tallies from Nick Bjugstad and Justin Faulk to complete the win.
The Blues improved to 5-8-2 with the victory, halting a stretch of eight losses in nine games. The defensive effort stood out — 19 blocked shots, three successful penalty kills, and no power-play goals allowed. Montgomery’s message about commitment and discipline finally seemed to land.
Next up, St. Louis returns home for a four-game home-stand beginning Saturday against the Seattle Kraken, followed by matchups vs. the Calgary Flame, Philadelphia Flyers, Las Vegas Golden Knights, and Toronto Maple Leafs. If the Blues bring the same defensive energy they showed vs. Buffalo, the shutout win could mark the start of their climb back into contention.
