ST. LOUIS -- Two nights after the Oscars, the Blues did everything but lay out the red carpet for Montreal's forwards on their direct path to the net.
St. Louis didn't offer much resistance to the Eastern Conference leaders and fell 5-2 to cap off their first two-game home losing streak all season. Far too many mistakes on both sides of the red line left coach Ken Hitchcock searching for answers after his team's fifth loss in its last nine games.
"I don't care what the shots on goal are," Hitchcock said. "When you give up as many odd-man rushes as we gave up in the last two games, we're showing no respect for what matters in the National Hockey League at this time."
Like the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-2 win last Saturday, Montreal capitalized on its opportunities despite getting only 23 shots on goal. Jake Allen saved several shots from point-blank range, including a stunning stop on Brandon Prust's one-timer on a two-on-one, but it wasn't nearly enough.
Perhaps the most costly blunder came from Vladimir Tarasenko, less than 10 minutes after he earned his 60th point of the season on an assist to David Backes. His back pass in the offensive zone went straight to Brendan Gallagher, who didn't need any help to finish from the right side on a two-on-one.
Another defensive lapse gave Michael Bournival a breakaway when he came out of the penalty box less than a minute later and quickly erased any hopes of a Blues comeback. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said the Blues just seemed a bit slow, and Allen wasn't the only one to note those errors are unacceptable 60 games into the season.
"Teams are too good with too much firepower like they have and they made us pay," Backes said. "They sealed the game before we get to really make that push."
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• Playing catch-up. An extra emphasis on fast starts didn't pay off in another lackluster first period at home for the Blues.
They've been outscored 9-1 in the opening period of their first eight home games since the All-Star break and have trailed 1-0 every time out at the Scottrade Center dating to a 3-1 win over Colorado on Jan. 19. Alexander Steen got the only first-period goal during that stretch against Arizona to help St. Louis rally and hold off the Coyotes 2-1.
The Blues managed to come back and win three of those other home games as well, though they needed overtime against Nashville and Tampa Bay. But Hitchcock has said recently St. Louis can't afford to keep falling behind, a mantra that proved true during a four-game homestand that yielded just two points.
"Good goaltending, they play good defensively, so it's tough to find a way to get in on them," Pietrangelo said. "It wears on you throughout a game, playing from behind."
Great depth and balance often make the Blues the stronger team by the third period, a big reason why they've been able to overcome so many deficits this season. But when they score first they're nearly unbeatable, posting a 26-4-1 record with just two losses at home.
• Line changes. Another cold streak meant another series of line changes for St. Louis.
Forwards Paul Stastny and Jori Lehtera may be in their first Blues season, but they've already learned losing leads to new linemates under Hitchcock. He maintained the top three twosomes of Backes and T.J. Oshie, Stastny and Jaskin, and Lehtera and Tarasenko, but only the fourth line of Steve Ott, Marcel Goc and Ryan Reaves remained completely intact.
"This is the time where we need a different dynamic in our team," Hitchcock said after changing the lines at Monday's practice. "The group that played the last game, we've run our course with that group and so let's see if we can find a little bit of new energy."
He made even more changes during the game, but it looks like they'll have to keep searching.
• Allen's win streak ends. A chance to start against Montreal will always mean something special to Allen.
The 24-year-old goaltender grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where he estimates "95 percent" of hockey fans support the Canadiens. He also played junior hockey games in the rink where Montreal practiced, giving him plenty of chances to watch and learn from four-time NHL All-Star Carey Price.
"I think it's just pretty cool to play," Allen said Tuesday morning. "Just the historic Original Six ... and obviously, Montreal's one of the best teams in the league this year and they get the best of us in their barn, and we get a chance to redeem ourselves here."
He also started in that 4-1 loss, and the Canadiens won by nearly an identical score to snap Allen's six-game win streak that reached all the way back to Dec. 27. Inconsistency haunted him once more, as great saves were offset by mistakes such as Alex Galchenyuk's goal from a nearly impossible angle for the first goal of the second period.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
