LOS ANGELES — Mathieu Joseph would be good at hopscotch.
After the St. Louis Blues’ 2-1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, Joseph looked like he was playing the childrens’ game where one hops through the squares on the ground. The reason he was leaping on his left foot through the locker room is because he had a bag of ice on his right foot, the result of blocking a heavy shot by the Kings’ Drew Doughty early in the third period.
It was one of 23 blocks by the Blues, including 10 in the third period when they rallied to tie the score 1-1 and pick up one point in the standings by sending the game to OT. Of the team’s 18 skaters, 14 of them registered at least one block and seven of them had two.
“I was not aware of that stat, but that really embodies the way we are sacrificing for each other,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said afterward. “It’s real selfless hockey, and it’s real fun to watch. You’re seeing players make kick saves like goalies would, right? I can’t say enough good things about the sacrifice for one another right now.”
On the block by Joseph, the Blues’ third-line winger makes like a goalie and sticks out his right leg, and the blast by Doughty hits the inside of his skate. He laid on the ice briefly, but rose to his feet and finished his shift.
It would have been easy for the Blues to pack it in the final 20 minutes on Saturday.
It was their third game against LA in eight days, and after beating the Kings twice (4-1 and 3-2 in a shootout), they could have used the age-old excuse of how hard it is to do it three times against the same club.
It was their third game in four days, and the second night of a back-to-back set following Friday’s 7 p.m. local start in Anaheim was less than 24 hours apart when the puck dropped at 5 p.m. in LA.
And they were playing without their top defensive pair of Colton Parayko, who is out six weeks with a knee injury, and Cam Fowler, who returned to St. Louis Saturday morning for the birth of his second child.
Despite LA’s Quinton Byfield ending the game 27 seconds into OT, it was a valiant effort by the Blues, one that has become common lately, as captain Brayden Schenn outlined on the trip.
“From my perspective, and a few others, we haven’t had this feeling in a couple years,” Schenn said. “It’s important to keep pushing this forward. St. Louis is going to set up good for the future but these are big games to play. It gets guys competitive, it gets guys playing for one another, and that’s how you start building a culture and a winning culture again.”
Schenn’s right. In the past couple of seasons, the Blues have had stretches where they played well, and the camaraderie has been good at times. But nothing like this.
Less than a month ago, it seemed clear that the club would miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season, and they still may. However, since the 4 Nations Face-Off, they’re 6-1-2 and one point behind the Calgary Flames for the second wild card in the Western Conference (though the Flames have two games in hand).
“It reminds me of the Chicago days when you have that swagger,” said Blues defenseman Nick Leddy, who played with the Blackhawks from 2010-2014 and won a Stanley Cup in 2013. “You might be down a goal or two, but the team doesn’t deviate from the plan. There’s confidence, there’s guys cheering others on, and it’s showing. It’s just a belief in this room and it starts with our leaders and it trickles down from there.”
There’s no bigger sign of self-sacrifice in hockey than blocked shots, and the Blues’ recent numbers illustrate the commitment.
Before the 4 Nations break, the team had 824 blocks, which ranked No. 22 in the NHL, and they were averaging 14.55 per 60 minutes (No. 24). Since the break, they have 149, which is No. 2 in the league, and they’re averaging 16.24 per 60 minutes (No. 8).
In the last nine games, defeneman Ryan Suter leads the way with 16 blocks, followed by Justin Faulk (14), Parayko (13), Philip Broberg (11) and 16 other players with at least two.
“It helps a lot,” Blues backup goalie Joel Hofer said. “It’s easy for me, I have all the padding. Those guys don’t have any padding. They’ve got (guts) out there. Yeah, lots of kudos to them.”
Meanwhile, Hofer bounced back Friday after a dismal outing against the Dallas Stars on March 2, when he allowed three goals on nine shots. He was replaced by Jordan Binnington, and the club lost 6-3.
In LA, Hofer only saw 23 shots, but made some incredible saves, including 11 of his 21 stops in the third period.
“He was our best player,” Blues forward Zack Bolduc said.
“So many big saves to give us an opportunity to get a point,” Montgomery said. “(Jordan Binnington) has been proven about what he can do in big moments, and I’m sure Hofer’s days are ahead of him to show those things as well.”
Hofer shook off the praise saying, “It’s fun to play these meaningful games.”
The netminder was playing behind a defense that found out late Friday night that it would be missing Fowler on Saturday. He flew home in the morning to be with his wife, Jasmine, who delivered their second son, Beau.
Congratulations to Cam and Jasmine Fowler, who welcomed their second child – Beau Matthew Fowler – today at 5:06 p.m.
Both mom and baby are doing well! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/QjpcojAQ1g
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 9, 2025
Faulk led the way with 25:11 of ice time, and he had a team-high four blocks. Broberg played 24:41 and directed eight shots at the net. Leddy played 18:37 and scored his first goal of the season. Tyler Tucker (18:08), Suter (15:45) and Matthew Kessel (12:39) each had two blocks apiece.
“I think everybody accounted themselves really well,” Montgomery said of the defensemen. “We played a real good hockey team and only gave up 21-22 shots, and that’s because their gaps were tight. They made really good decisions breaking pucks out and disrupting plays in the neutral zone.”
The Blues will now get a break, taking Sunday and Monday off before heading back on the road to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday and the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
That will give them time to get over the fatigue that was evident in the third period in LA Friday.
“It wasn’t an easy game for us, but as a group, we found a way to take a big point,” Bolduc said. “You always want to get two, but in our situation, we can be happy with one.”
“You look at our schedule, playing three games in four nights at this point in the season, it’s never easy and teams are pushing for playoffs,” Leddy said. “I’m definitely pretty proud of the guys.”
From the effort to everything else, Montgomery was proud, too.
“I thought that was a real gutsy effort by our group,” he said. “Too bad we didn’t get the two points, but the blocked shots, the sacrificing for each other, the screen by Bolduc on the Leddy goal, that’s winning hockey. If we just keep playing like this, we’ll keep getting good results.”
(Photo of Mathieu Joseph and Drew Doughty going for the puck: Ryan Sun / Imagn Images)
