Jim Montgomery To Reunite Most Prolific Line Down Stretch Last Season
MARYLAND
HEIGHTS, Mo. — Jim
Montgomery knew all along.
Putting the Three Amigos are back together was in the cards all along.
The
St. Louis Blues coach already knew what he
had when training camp began when it came to the line of Brayden
Schenn centering Dylan Holloway and Jordan Kyrou. That line was a
catalyst in helping fuel the Blues’ run to getting back to the
Stanley Cup playoffs a season ago.
There was no need to get an extensive look again.
But
when the Blues signed Pius Suter as a free agent on July 2 and when
camp began, the Blues put Suter between Holloway and Schenn, who was
playing with Jake Neighbours and whoever they would put on that right
wing.
There
was no sign that Schenn was playing with Holloway and Kyrou as camp
progressed, and Suter was the center in the middle for two games. Was
this the changing of the guard, so to speak?
Not
a chance.
When
the Blues got back to practice Tuesday in preparation for their
season- and home-opener Thursday against the Minnesota Wild, there
was Schenn back in that familiar spot. And Montgomery said, “We
will see Schenn there opening night.”
Why?
“Sometimes
as a coach you just trust your gut and I watched camp,” Montgomery
said.
“The most important part of that is Suter came here because he
wants to win, and he is an extremely good locker room guy, a team
guy. He can even plug-and-play. Obviously our captain, we know that
about him. Having those two being able to move between the two and
three hole, it makes it very flexible and one of the reasons I
thought the Suter signing was really important to our team depth.”
Suter
was between Neighbours and Mathieu Joseph, and that looks like the
likely trio that will open Thursday, but this was all along a trial
to see if the Blues could have another option in a long season should
one be needed.
Montgomery
is more that comfortable using either there.
“A
hundred percent. Yeah,” he
said.
“Sometimes you get a feel as a coach that the energy’s…
