Lindgren has the best of Allen and the Canadiens

ST. LOUIS – Pavel Buchnevich scored a goal and an assist and the Blues spoiled the return of Jake allen in St. Louis with a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at the Enterprise Center.

Allen made 33 saves for the Canadiens in his first game in St. Louis since the Blues traded him to Montreal on September 2, 2020. He had spent seven campaigns in the Blues uniform, with whom he won the Cup. Stanley in 2019. He was drafted second (34th overall) by St. Louis in 2008. Montreal (6-20-3) is 0-5-1 in his last six games.

“It was an emotional night, to be honest,” Allen said. I’m not the sentimental type, but I arrived here when I was 17. Since my departure, every day, I think about all that this city has given me, both on and off the ice. My family, my friends. My best friends are still on this team and we have remained friends outside of the rink. It’s practically like my second home. It touches me a lot to be here. « 

Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves for the Blues (15-8-4). He played his first five professional seasons with the Canadiens organization before joining the Blues as a free agent on July 29. He shows a 3-0-0 record with St. Louis.

“It was an important part for Charlie. He’s proven he’s a good goalie and they made a mistake in letting him go, ”said Blues forward Dakota Joshua.

Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O’Reilly and Logan Brown each had two assists for the Blues, who posted a third straight win and a seventh in a row at home.

“Before the game, we said that if we worked hard and if we fought, our talent would come out,” explained Blues coach Craig Berube. “Our players put a lot of pressure on the puck and the forward check. We worked well without the puck, we forced them to make bad decisions with the disc and we took advantage. I think we have done well in this area. They were given only one surplus at the end of the first period. We kept them at bay for most of the game and we did a good job. « 

Video: Canadians beaten 4-1 by the Blues

Buchnevich scored on the game’s first shot at 1:03 of the opening period to give the Blues a 1-0 lead. He has 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in his last 17 games.

“It was a lucky game,” Allen said. I don’t believe that was what they had planned. Buchnevich tried to surprise me with the backhand and I made the save, but the puck came back to him right away. I think it was just a weird, lucky game. « 

Dakota Joshua’s second NHL net, posted at 8:52 of the second period, made it 2-0. Then, Ivan Barbashev hit the target with a shot on reception from the enclave during a power play at 15:20 to accentuate this priority to 3-0.

« I had to remind the others that I can score with my stick so that’s good, » Joshua said. Brown played a good game passing me the puck, then I feinted and was able to lodge it in the back of the net. « 

Alexander Romanov scored at 1:57 of the third period to reduce the lead to 3-1 as the Blues turned behind their net.

It was Montreal’s first 134: 49 goal, since Jonathan Drouin scored at 7:08 of the second period in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 7.

“We started the third period well and we had a chance to get back into the game after that first goal,” said Canadiens forward Joel Armia. “We had chances to score, but it didn’t work. « 

Torey Krug beat Allen with a slapshot from the top of the left circle on a power play at 10:16 to complete the score at 4-1.