Holloway has goal, assist as Blues cruise past Maple Leafs to win 4th straight

ST. LOUIS -- Dylan Holloway had a goal and an assist, and the St. Louis Blues won their fourth in a row, 5-1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Enterprise Center on Saturday.

Justin Holl scored against his former team, Jimmy Snuggerud, Pius Suter and Philip Broberg each scored, and Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours each had two assists for the Blues (31-30-11), who are 10-1-2 their past 13 games. Jordan Binnington made 12 saves.

St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery’s initial postgame comment was how the Blues had the puck on their sticks, “all night long.” What led to it was a major factor.

“The way we played north, the way we played connected, our guys were connected in all three zones,” Montgomery said. “Our puck decisions were really good. We hardly had any turnovers. We made them defend a lot.”

Jake McCabe scored for the Maple Leafs (31-30-13), who had won their past two games. Joseph Woll, who was born in the St. Louis suburb of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, made 33 saves.

"We had one player that showed up tonight and that was our goalie,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “That's what it really boils down to.

"It's very disappointing. I mean, I thought the last couple of games we were pretty good and we were building. Like I talk about staying together and playing competitive and we did not have that out there tonight.”

Snuggerud put St. Louis ahead 1-0 at 5:21 of the second period after Cam Fowler was able to slide around Toronto forward Max Domi and feed Snuggerud in the slot to redirect into an open side.

“I came in, ‘Holly’ made a great play and I looked up at the net and I didn’t see much of a screen so I wasn’t sure if it was a good opportunity to shoot,” Fowler said. “'Snuggy’ either beat his man out of the corner and found a spot there. I figured it was better on his stick than mine. I made the play and he did the rest.”

Holl’s first goal of the season made it 2-0 at 10:35 when he was able to get a piece of Kyrou’s wrister towards the net. Holl spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Maple Leafs (2017-23).

McCabe's shot from the right wall at 5:07 of the third period cut the St. Louis lead to 2-1 after Toronto checked the puck back behind the Blues' net and worked it to the defenseman.

“From the drop of the puck, we were chasing the whole game,” McCabe said. “We were chasing them. They got every loose puck and won every battle. They pretty much could do whatever they wanted to out there. We left our goaltender out to dry there. It wasn't great. We let him down there in the third period. He battles for us every night. It's unfortunate.”

With Theo Lindstein in the box for holding, Suter's short-handed goal at 6:46 made it 3-1 when Thomas was able to race and win a puck in the corner and chip it to an open Suter in the slot for the one-timer.

Holloway made it 4-1 at 9:10 when Kyrou found the forward cutting into the slot, and he beat Woll with a wrister high on the glove side.

“They were all over us,” Maple Leafs forward William Nylander said of the Blues. “We didn't win any battles tonight. They controlled the game. That’s what it comes down to. We weren't crisp and we made it harder on ourselves.”

Broberg's power-play goal at 18:24 from the high slot made it a 5-1 final.

“Playing with confidence has been big,” Thomas said. “The guys have really stepped up and taken over on how we want to play. We’re just playing with a ton of confidence. Our ‘D’ are getting up in the plays, we’re transitioning so quick, we’re finding the middle. Our attack off the rush is really dangerous. There’s a lot of things going well right now, especially when you have so many young guys coming in. They’ve really stepped up, not only their play but just showing maturity and stepping up and talking in the room. I think it’s been really important lately."

NOTES: Holloway has 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 15 games since returning from a right high ankle sprain after the Olympic break. … Snuggerud has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in the past 11 games. … Thomas returned after missing one game with an upper-body injury; he has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) his past 12 games. … Toronto forward Jacob Quillan had an assist on McCabe’s goal, his first NHL point in his 17th game. … St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong served in his 1,231st game as GM, passing Frank Selke Sr. (Montreal Canadiens) for 16th all-time among GMs for games with a single franchise. ... The Blues moved over .500 for the first time since they were 3-2-1.