How Jim Montgomery Fared In Blues Coaching Debut After Bruins Exit

Jim Montgomery wanted to find the spark the Bruins missed in the final days of his Boston tenure as he took the helm with the St. Louis Blues.

Monday night delivered that effort with a third-period surge for the Blues. St. Louis sat in a 2-2 stalemate against a quality Eastern Conference squad in the New York Rangers. That’s when the Blues took Madison Square Garden by storm with a trio of goals in the third period from Brayden Schenn, Zack Bolduc and Pavel Buchnevich. That score held for a 5-2 victory for St. Louis as the team started the Montgomery era off on the right foot.

Montgomery’s squad did not convert on any of three power-play opportunities, though the Blues established physicality with more hits and blocked 17 blocked shots on the night. St. Louis also peppered Igor Shesterkin with 43 shots on the night. That high volume of shots paid off with the three-goal third period that ultimately made the difference to deliver Montgomery’s first win since moving on from the Bruins.

Montgomery looks to bring the Blues to 2-0-0 when St. Louis visits the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Wednesday night while the Bruins host a familiar face in Jake DeBrusk and the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night.