Blues prepare for Game 2 against Jets after ‘valuable experience’

WINNIPEG -- The St. Louis Blues want to make sure they don’t repeat the same mistakes in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round at Canada Life Centre on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS2, ESPN2, FDSNMW).

“You’re up 3-2 with 10 minutes left in the third (period) and we didn’t prevail, so we’ve got to grow and learn from that,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said Sunday on the morning after a 5-3 loss in the best-of-7 series opener.

St. Louis played its style of hockey through the first two periods Saturday. The Blues were forechecking, playing well on special teams and held a one-goal lead with 20 minutes remaining.

But Alex Iafallo tied it midway through the third period before Kyle Connor gave Winnipeg a 4-3 lead with 1:36 left. Adam Lowry sealed it with an empty-net goal.

The Blues were outshot 9-2 in the third.

“I think a lot of guys got some valuable experience in their first NHL playoff game,” Montgomery said. “They’ll be significantly better, and I still think we have a lot of guys that have experience that maybe weren’t at the top of their game yesterday for us and they’ll be better.”

Jake Neighbours was one who got that experience in his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut. The forward got his first career postseason point, a secondary assist on Jordan Kyrou's power-play goal at 1:13 of the second period, logged 16:02 of ice time and was in the mix when the game got snarly late.

As for wresting momentum away from the Jets once they get it, something the Blues were unable to do in the third Saturday, Neighbours said there are things they can do better in Game 2.

“I think just trying to get the puck down in their end and sustain it,” Neighbours said. “Yesterday in the third period, they did take over the game.

“The biggest thing I noticed from us is we weren’t getting to our forecheck, stalling pucks and creating [offensive]-zone time. When you’re dumping a lot of pucks in and they’re retrieving them, breaking out easy, they’re playing with it on their stick and that gives them confidence, gets them feeling good. Trying to get in the [offensive] zone, create some sustained offense, doing that will slow their momentum down a little bit.”

Montgomery said he liked the Blues’ top line of left with Neighbours, center Robert Thomas and right wing Pavel Buchnevich offensively, but said they have to be “a little sharper and a little quicker” defensively.

That said, he wasn’t blaming them for Connor’s goal.

“The fourth goal, to me, sometimes the other team makes a high-end play, and that’s a high-end play made by two high-end players; that’s going to happen. It’s like the only way to stop Michael Jordan is to let Dean Smith coach him,” Montgomery said of the former NBA great and his college coach at the University of North Carolina.

“You’re not going to stop him besides that. He’s going to get his looks, and we’re going to get our looks.”

The Blues recognize what they did well in Game 1. Their power play was 2-for-3. They were physical, especially early; St. Louis was credited with 32 hits in the first period. It held Winnipeg’s power play, ranked No. 1 in the regular season (28.9 percent) to one goal on four opportunities.

“There’s a lot to take away,” Blues defenseman Cam Fowler said. “It’s always fun coming in, playing in an environment like that. The energy was great, and it was a competitive hockey game: physical, everything you’d expect from playoff hockey.

“We were right there the whole time, and they capitalized on a couple of opportunities in the third period, and that’s the difference in the game. Our guys fought hard and have to make sure we prepare and be ready for the next one.”

The pressure of being down 1-0 in the series probably won’t bother the Blues; they were eight points out of a playoff spot heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off on Feb. 12 and an NHL-best 19-4-3 after the tournament.

But there’s no disputing they let a good opportunity slip away Saturday and they don’t want that to happen again.

“There are certain tactical things we can look at that can help us for the next game and just understanding that in order to have success in the playoffs, you have to sustain that momentum for 60 minutes, especially when you’re on the road and you’re playing against a really good team in a difficult environment,” Fowler said.

“I was proud of our guys. I thought we fought hard and it’s something we can learn from and build off of and know that we were right there in a competitive hockey game. Next time we’re in that situation, hopefully we can get the job done.”