Blues' franchise-record 12-game winning streak no fluke: 'It means we're good'

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ST. LOUIS — Robert Thomas skated into the left corner of the St. Louis Blues’ defensive zone, flipped the puck up to himself with his stick and held it in his glove.

There was no time left on the clock, so Thomas wasn’t looking to add another point to his eye-popping totals of late. He was retrieving the souvenir puck from the Blues’ franchise-record 12th straight victory, a 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

Yes, the club that was the last in the NHL in the 2024-25 season to win three in a row has now won a league-best 12 in a row.

“I am proud of that group in there to be able to overcome all of the adversity that we’ve had this year,” said Blues coach Jim Montgomery, who took over in November. “Whether that was self-inflicted by us, it doesn’t matter, we’ve overcome it. I’m proud of that group for what they’ve achieved.”

“It’s very cool,” said Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who also set a franchise record with his 10th straight home win. “It’s good to enjoy these moments, especially at home. It’s really fun to play here right now, and you can tell there’s good energy all around.”

How about this for some context:

• Before the 12-game win streak, the Blues trailed Colorado by 14 points in the Western Conference standings (83-69). They’re now five points back of the Avs for third-place in the Central Division (98-93).

• Before the streak, the Blues trailed the Minnesota Wild by 10 points in the standings (79-69). They’re now four points ahead of the Wild for the No. 1 wild card (93-89).

And as much as there was made about the Blues having the easiest strength of schedule in the NHL from mid-March on, the club has some quality wins in this stretch. There was the 5-1 victory at Minnesota, a 4-3 overtime win over Vancouver, a 6-1 lopsider over streaking Montreal, and two impressive triumphs over Colorado.

“And we’ve lost some really good, important players to our lineup,” Montgomery said. “It means we’re good. We’re a good hockey team.”

Yes, the Blues are now 13-1-1 without Colton Parayko, and 1-0 without both Parayko and Dylan Holloway, their second-leading scorer.

They’re getting contributions throughout the lineup, but none bigger than from Thomas, who had a 4-point night (1 goal, 3 assists). He leads the team with 75 points, despite missing 12 games earlier this season.

“Can’t say enough good things about Robert Thomas’ game since 4 Nations (Face-Off),” Montgomery said. “He must be one of the top three scorers in the NHL in that time.”

Actually, Thomas is No. 1 in the NHL in points since the 4 Nations, and it goes back further than that. Since Feb. 1, he has led the entire league with 39 points. He’s followed by Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (37), Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (36), Cale Makar (34) and Boston’s David Pastrnak and Toronto’s Auston Matthews (33 each).

“He’s No. 1?” Montgomery said. “Well, there you go.”

Thomas had the primary assist on three of the Blues’ first four goals Saturday, as they opened a 4-0 lead on the Avalanche. He has multi-point games in six of his last seven games.

“He doesn’t think, he just plays the game,” Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich said. “Before, if you struggle a little bit, you’re thinking too much. He just plays like a kid and enjoys the moment. I’m happy to see that for him a 4-point game is pretty impressive.”

But Thomas’ offense isn’t what has impressed Montgomery the most. Since the 4 Nations Face-Off, the center has been on the ice for 23 goals for at five-on-five and just eight against, according to Natural Stat Trick.

“I think what people aren’t recognizing is how good he’s been defensively,” Montgomery said. “We’re using him against (Nathan) MacKinnon’s line all night tonight. He just does a really good job. His brain is high-end offensively and defensively.”

Another solid contributor lately has been Zack Bolduc. The 22-year-old rookie had two goals Saturday, and with 18 goals this season, he’s No. 5 on the team behind Jordan Kyrou (33), Holloway (26), Jake Neighbours (22) and Thomas (21).

Bolduc got just 10:24 of ice time Saturday because Montgomery leaned on all four lines, but in five of the 12 games during the winning streak, he’s received 15-plus minutes.

“His ice time has increased because his compete on pucks and his ability to make plays has increased,” Montgomery said. “Players get rewarded when they play well and they play the right way. You play hard, you’re going to make up for any mistakes. We’re all going to make mistakes in this game, but when you play hard and you compete on pucks, good things happen.”

Bolduc, who played in his 68th game of the season — 43 more than 2023-24 — said he’s settling in.

“It’s about time,” he said. “I’ve been playing regularly here lately. To get to know guys and create some chemistry here and there. The whole team is playing well. It’s fun to be a part of it.”

He’s especially settling in on the power play. He’s been playing on the bumper, where he’s able to unleash his hefty shot, which is how he scored the Blues’ first goal Saturday.

“It’s amazing how it’s just worked for him in the bumper,” Montgomery said.

With his two power-play goals against Colorado, Bolduc is tied with Kyrou, Holloway and Neighbours for the team lead with six.

“He is scoring a lot and every team is watching the videos, so he’ll have to adjust, don’t do the same things every time,” said Buchnevich, who’s played the bumper in the past. “All the things he does, it’s basically try to set him up for the shot. He’s the pure shooter, can score the goal from anywhere. You see the hard work he did, and it’s paid off.”

Meanwhile, there’s Binnington. He won his seventh straight start Saturday and has not lost at Enterprise Center since a 3-2 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 4. He hasn’t lost in regulation on home ice since a 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 27.

The veteran netminder gave up four goals to the Avalanche on Saturday, as the Blues watched a 4-0 lead shrivel to 4-3 and 5-4 late, but if not for Binnington earlier in the game, the team’s streak might have been in jeopardy.

“It’s been really a collective effort,” Binnington said. “(Backup goalie Joel Hofer) and I both have been playing games, and guys have come in and out of the lineup along the way. We’re just finding a way to get it done. We’ve got a really good foundation right now, and I think tonight was our best game in the last three or so.

“(But) it’s a humbling league, so you’ve got to just keep your head down and keep working and find a way and try and find your times to enjoy the moments.”

The Blues are moving onto Monday, when they’ll travel to Winnipeg, as they wrap up the final four games of the regular season.

“I think staying in the moment, just worrying about our next game and getting prepared for it (has been the key),” Montgomery said. “Our day-to-day habits have been excellent. We’re not discussing where we are in the standings and not talking about who’s injured. We haven’t talked about any of them once as a group together.”

But with their 12th straight win, and against a Stanley Cup contender no less, others may be talking more about the Blues.

“If you win 12 in a row, you’re thinking you’re a good team,” Buchnevich said. “Now people see you make some noise around the league, and people are coming here knowing it’s going to be a tough game. We’ve got the best from the other team.

“It’s not just who scores the goals. It’s a full team shift in, shift out, and it’s hard to play against us. It’s working right now and just keep going.”

(Photo of Blues fans celebrating after Robert Thomas scored an empty net goal against the Avalanche: Jeff Curry / Imagn Images)





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