You can make all the changes you want behind the bench in any sport, but until you start looking at the players on the bench and making the tough decision, change will not happen.
On Sunday night, the St Louis Blues proved that axiom in a 6-1 thumping at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks.
Brock Boeser picked up a hat trick in the win.
Elias Pettersson had a goal and five points on the night.
“Well, I don’t really know what to answer,” Pettersson said. “I’m just trying to create chances and points will come when you play good. That’s all I’m thinking of.”
It’s the second time this season he has put up five points in a game.
Bo Horvat and Nikolay Goldobin also scored for Vancouver who improved to 13-16-3.
“It was a nice win for our group overall, a lot of positives,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “I like how we played with the lead, a strong second period and then a real strong third period. What we’ve been talking about with our group is that when you have a lead, how do you play with it? They did a good job of that tonight for sure.”
Jacob Markstrom made 22 saves to the win; it was second straight victory for the Canucks.
Jordan Kyrou scored the lone goal for St Louis, his first career NHL goal.
“Right now, we’re not committed enough to what we want to accomplish,” Blues forward Alexander Steen said. “You know, tonight was a couple of unlucky bounces and it completely changed the competitiveness of the game.”
The Blues dropped to 10-14-4.
“We’re a fragile group,” Blues forward Brayden Schenn said. “[The fans] come to see us play, and pay to see us play, and that’s multiple times where we’ve put out poor performances on home ice. It’s obviously unacceptable and we’ve got to find ways to not only win hockey games, but make this a tough place to play, a proud place to play in front of our fans.”
[WATCH: All Canucks vs. Blues highlights]
Jake Allen got the start but did not make it out of the first period, getting the hook after making three saves on just six shots.
Chad Johnson made 12 saves the rest of the way.
“We’ve got to be mentally tougher than that tonight,” Blues head coach Craig Berube said.
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