ST. LOUIS — Drew Bannister was searching for some oomph out of the St. Louis Blues. Not necessarily guys going out of their way to be in harm’s way as far as injury prior to the regular season starting but more so guys fighting for jobs in a competitive training camp.
The Blues coach got it tonight in a 3-2 come-from-behind overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks in the preseason home-opener on Saturday at Enterprise Center.
The Blues (1-3-0) had started the preseason with a bit of a whimper, which prompted Bannister to see a sense of urgency from some guys, especially those fighting for few precious jobs on the squad.
Dylan Holloway scored twice, including the game-winner in OT to cap a two-goal comeback, which resulted in the Blues overcoming a 2-0 third-period deficit.
“Early on in the first couple games and I’ve said this before, I thought a lot of our players were just kind of easing their way into it and I thought tonight, not that we didn’t start well, I thought our start was OK,” Bannister said. “I thought we were a little bit slow to close in the d-zone, we stood around and watched a little bit that caused us issues. But in the second and the third, we played with more of a purpose and our speed was really evident in the second and the third.”
Takeaways from Saturday’s game include the following standouts/good play:
* Holloway — It’s a small sample size, but the No. 14 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft could be a steal for the Blues.
Holloway, who played on a line with Radek Faksa and Mathieu Joseph and the line was solid, displayed a speed element along with a number of his teammates that was obviously missing from the Blues of a year ago and more.
His OT goal came after he nearly won it on the first shift of OT but was stopped by Petr Mrazek before he scored at 3:11 of the extra session to end it.
“He made a great save and it was a great play by ‘Colt’ there,” Holloway said. “I kind of had open ice but didn’t score but I was glad the second one went in.”
Holloway also put the Blues on the board at 4:44 of the third to make it 2-1 when his shot caromed off the leg of Chicago defenseman Louis Crevier as linemate Mathieu Joseph was at the net front.
“I thought Dylan played outstanding,” Bannister said. “He just continues to get better.
“Obviously the speed factor, that’s something that certainly is quite noticeable in our team from last year until what we’ve seen so far this year. Whether it’s him or Joseph or [Akexandre] Texier, they can all really get up the ice pretty quick. It certainly changes the dynamic and the pace of the game we can play at.”
Holloway, who is slated to skate with Faksa and Joseph when the season begins, looks like a player that could very well play in the top six.
It’s early, yes, but having him for the next two years at a $2.29 million average annual value could be a steal.
“It was awesome,” Holloway said on playing in front of Blues fans as a Blue for the first time. “I really enjoyed it. Obviously didn’t get off to the greatest start, but the boys pulled through. Our fans were great. It was a great turnout for a preseason game.”
Holloway played 15:48, had four shots on goal (eight attempts), two hits, a takeaway and three blocks all in a night’s work.
* Texier — Quite the debut for the forward the Blues acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 28 for a 2025 fourth-round pick before signing him to a two-year, $4.2 million contract.
Texier led the Blues with seven shots on goal, played 17:14, tied with Nick Leddy at plus-2, assisted on Holloway’s OT winner with two hits and a pair of blocks.
“I’ve been really impressed with him in his practices not knowing a ton about him as a player,” Bannister said of Texier. “… I was really impressed. I thought he had an outstanding game here tonight. I thought their whole line (with Alexey Toropchenko and Nathan Walker) was really good, but in particular him. He stood out for me, the speed, the skill, he’s heavy on the stick, makes creative plays. He’s always around the puck.”
* Nathan Walker — A constant example of someone who plays each and every game — and every practice — as if he’s fighting to stay in the NHL, and does it well.
His goal at 11:04 of the third is the typical kind of Walker style of goal, one that won’t make the highlights on NHL Network but as greasy as they come, being around the net and poking it over the line.
It needed video replay before officials quickly deemed it to be a good goal and tie the game 2-2.
“I thought [Mrazek] had a little backwards motion too,” Walker said. “I think I gave him a little bit of a poke too to help it get there, but at the end of the day, it was a good goal.
“I’ve got one job to do on the ice and that’s just to work hard, try to be the best I can and the best teammate I can. That’s all I can do at this point.”
Walker was a plus-1 in 13:43 with four hits and won five of eight draws.
“I thought ‘Walks’ was outstanding too,” Bannister said. “He’s a player, and I said this before, he looked like a player fighting for a spot on our team.
“Before tonight, I didn’t see a lot of that from a lot of our guys and I felt like tonight, a lot of guys stepped up and showed they want to be St. Louis Blues.”
* 3-on-3 — Dare it be said that the Blues will want to play OT games this season?
Why not when they can display the speed element that can earn them the extra point when needed.
It was evident from the first face-off when Bannister can put Faksa out there to win possession, he comes off for a speedster like Holloway or Joseph or Texier, Colton Parayko, and those were just the guys in the lineup tonight.
“No question. Again, it’s just a different dynamic, but we still have some players that weren’t in the lineup tonight that can play in those situations too,” Bannister said. “But it’s nice to be able to have options like that whether it’s a 4-on-4 situation or 3-on-3.”
* Leo Loof — The defenseman and third-round pick in 2020 has been sort of a forgotten d-man on the organizational depth chart gets points for taking out Frank Nazar after the Chicago forward shoved No. 10 pick in 2023, Dalibor Dvorsky from behind into the boards in a dangerous situation.
Loof was given a roughing minor and the Blackhawks scored on the play when Oakville’s Pat Maroon made it 2-0 but you can live with that penalty in that situation when Loof comes in and defends his teammate the way he did.
Loof, who played 58 games in Springfield last season, had seven assists. He played 14:33 on Saturday with two hits.
“I thought Leo had a great game for someone that hasn’t played a lot in North America and played a lot at this level, I thought he had a really good outing tonight,” Bannister said. “I’ve gotten to know Leo a little bit, I saw him a little bit at the American League level. Last year in his second half, he really started to come on. A little bit of a language barrier with him early on but I think he’s kind of past that. The physicality, he leans into guys, he’s a tough kid. He plays hard. He’s a guy that kind of gets under other teams’ skin and he’s noticed on the ice. I was really happy for Leo and what he did here tonight and how he played.”
* Colten Ellis — Ellis keeps rising up the Blues’ goalie depth chart and will keep Thunderbirds No. 1 (for now) Vadim Zherenko on his toes and bite into more playing time.
Ellis relieved starter Jordan Binnington for the third period and OT and stopped all 11 shots he faced, including a few high-danger chances and swallowed up pucks before any rebounds were available.
“Probably three years now that I’ve seen Colten develop,” Bannister said. “When a goalie of his size starts to get confidence in themselves, they look bigger in the net and I think he presents a lot bigger. He actually is. He looks really big at the net. He has the same ability to move pucks like Binner, like Joel. He gets out to pucks quick, he makes good decisions, which makes it very easy on the D and on the forwards because he can break you out pretty quick. A lot of positives for me in his development that I’ve seen over the last three years and him turning pro and I think he continues to get better.”
* Colton Parayko — Is there any question how good the Blues’ top-pairing defenseman is? No need to even play him in any more preseason games. He’s ready to go. THE END.
