BLUES St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou spoke recently about wanting to simplify his game. Going into Thursday night in Ottawa, he had just three points in his last 10 games.
“I was just trying to play faster without the puck and be more aggressive on the forecheck and on guys,” he said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like when I do that, the rest of my game kind of comes along.”
If his last two games are proof, those changes are definitely working. Kyrou followed up three points against the Senators with a hat trick in Saturday’s 5-4 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild.
“Any time you have a good game,” Blues Head Coach Drew Bannister said Saturday, “you just want to build on that and get your momentum going. I thought (Kyrou) was good in Ottawa, and I thought he carried it on. He was much better even here (Saturday), the way he played and the way he finished, but I thought his overall game was real good.”
St. Louis also got goals from Jake Neighbors and Brandon Saad, with Saad scoring the game-winner. Neighbors and Kyrou each scored their 25th goals of the season, tying them for the team lead.
The Blues (37-29-3) have now won six of their last seven games, winning at the right time as they push for the playoffs. The Blues are still four points behind Vegas for the last Wild Card spot, but Bannister warned doubters not to bet against his team.
“We have (nine) guys that have won Stanley Cups in this room,” Bannister said. “They know how to win at the end of the year. I’m not surprised by the way we responded, the way we played here in the last five or six games…I wouldn’t bet (against) these guys. They just know how to win. There’s too much character in that dressing room.”
Monday night kicks off a week-long homestand at Enterprise Center. After Vegas, the Blues host Calgary (March 28), San Jose (March 30) and Edmonton (April 1).
