The Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues squared off for their last games before Christmas, and both teams were looking to get on track. By night’s end, the Blues pulled off a 4-0 shutout victory. With the win, the Blues move to 16-16-4, while the Red Wings’ losing streak moves to three games as they fall to 13-17-4.
Game Recap
The first 20 minutes of the game saw the Blues keep the Red Wings’ defense and goaltender Cam Talbot busy. They controlled the pace of play and offensive zone time for most of the period. They were finally rewarded with just over three minutes left in the period after a turnover by former Blue Vladimir Tarasenko at his blue line, which led to Cam Fowler finding Dylan Holloway in the slot for a one-timer that beat Talbot to give the Blues a 1-0 lead that stood through 20 minutes of play. In the period, the Blues outshot the Red Wings 10-3.
It did not take long for the Blues to extend their one-goal lead in the second period, with Alex Texier being the beneficiary of a quick breakout by the Blues to get a two-on-one rush less than 20 seconds in. Texier buried a point-blank shot on Talbot to push the lead to 2-0 early on. Holloway scored his second of the game thanks to a defensive breakdown by the Red Wings, ending with him being left alone in the slot and Brayden Schenn finding him for another quick shot that Talbot did not stand much of a chance on. The Blues would end the second period with a 3-0 lead on the scoreboard while holding the edge in shots at 17-9.
The third period saw the Red Wings get their chances offensively, but Jordan Binnington stood tall and shut the door on them. No goals would be scored in the period until Holloway recorded his first career NHL hat trick on an empty-net goal with just over four minutes left in the game.
In the 4-0 win, Binnington made 19 saves to earn the shutout, while Talbot stopped 17 of 20 he faced. Both teams will be off until Dec. 27. The Blues will return home to take on the Nashville Predators, and the Red Wings will welcome in the Toronto Maple Leafs.
