They actually did it. After what felt like an eternity of fumbling away extra points, the St. Louis Blues finally cracked the code on Friday night. Honestly, if you’ve been following this team lately, you know that the "overtime" or "shootout" section of the stat sheet has been a total graveyard. Before this game, they were a staggering 0-8 after regulation.
But things changed at Enterprise Center.
The St Louis blues hockey score today reflects a massive 3-2 shootout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. It wasn't just a win. It was a streak-killer. The Lightning came into St. Louis riding an 11-game winning streak, looking like the juggernaut they usually are. The Blues, meanwhile, were just trying to prove they could finish a game without falling apart the moment the 60-minute horn sounded.
The Breakdown: How the Blues Toppled a Giant
The game started with a surge that caught Tampa back on their heels. Jake Neighbours, who has really emerged as a reliable scoring threat this season, opened the scoring at 17:03 of the first period. Just thirty seconds later? Nick Bjugstad doubled the lead. 2-0 Blues.
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It felt too good to be true. And for a while, it was.
Tampa Bay doesn't just go away. They have Nikita Kucherov. In the second period, the Lightning flexed their special teams' muscle, netting two power-play goals in just over a minute. Kucherov scored one (his 24th of the year), and Oliver Bjorkstrand tied it up. Suddenly, the momentum was gone. The Enterprise Center got quiet. You could almost feel the "here we go again" energy in the air.
Joel Hofer’s Stand
If there is one name you need to remember from this score, it’s Joel Hofer. He was incredible. He faced 36 shots and turned away 34 of them. In the shootout, he was a brick wall. He stopped all three Tampa attempts, including a final, high-pressure save on Kucherov to seal the deal.
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"You want those battles," Hofer told reporters after the game. It’s a good thing he does, because the Blues' defense allowed a lot of rubber to get through. The shot clock was lopsided—36 to 21 in favor of Tampa—but Hofer didn't blink.
Why This Specific St Louis Blues Hockey Score Today Is a Turning Point
It is easy to look at a 3-2 shootout win and call it luck. But for Jim Montgomery’s squad, this is about psychological hurdles. When you lose eight straight games in overtime or shootouts, it starts to get in your head. You start playing "not to lose" instead of playing to win.
- Jordan Kyrou's Ice-Cold Finish: Kyrou was the only player to score in the shootout. It was a vintage move, and it gave the Blues their first post-regulation win of the 2025-26 season.
- Physicality in the Trenches: Despite being outshot, the Blues out-hit the Lightning. Brayden Schenn led the way with 105 hits on the season so far, and that grit was visible on Friday.
- The Goalie Hierarchy: With Jordan Binnington struggling a bit (3.35 GAA), Hofer’s performance (2.76 GAA) makes the goaltending conversation in St. Louis very interesting moving forward.
What's Next for the Notes?
The schedule doesn't get any easier. The Blues are currently sitting at 19-21-8. They are right on the bubble, fighting for relevance in a Western Conference that feels like a meat grinder this year.
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Tonight, Sunday, January 18, they head to Edmonton to take on Connor McDavid and the Oilers at 8:00 PM EST. Edmonton is fresh off a 6-0 demolition of Vancouver. If the Blues want to turn this two-game winning streak into something real, they have to find a way to contain McDavid, who already has 82 points this season.
Basically, the win against Tampa was the "prove it" game. The game in Edmonton tonight is the "sustain it" game.
Fans should keep an eye on the lineup. We might see some shifts in the bottom six as Montgomery tries to match the Oilers' speed. Whether Hofer gets the nod again after his heroics or they go back to Binnington to keep him fresh is the big question.
If you're looking for actionable steps to follow the team's progress, start by tracking their "goals against" at even strength. Currently, they've allowed 131 goals at even strength while scoring only 96. That's a gap that needs to close if they want to make a serious playoff push in the spring.
Keep an eye on the puck drop in Edmonton; it's going to be a fast one.