The Blues just slammed the door on the hottest team in hockey. St. Louis beat Tampa Bay in a shootout on Jan. 16, and Jordan Kyrou delivered the winner. The Lightning rolled in on an 11-game run. They left with nothing but a lesson and a long flight home.
Kyrou ends it, and St. Louis makes a statement
In the shootout, Kyrou took the puck with calm and purpose. He changed pace, held the goalie guessing, then snapped it home. Clean. Cold. Clinical. His bench exploded. The building shook. That moment was the edge the Blues earned all night, with structure and speed feeding each other.
This was not a lucky bounce. It was a plan that held up under pressure. St. Louis kept their gaps tight, won races to loose pucks, and denied Tampa’s elite skill the open ice it needs. When the Lightning did break through, the Blues protected the slot and boxed out bodies. It looked like playoff hockey in January.
This result ends Tampa Bay’s 11-game run and gives St. Louis a signature midseason win.
How the Blues froze a red hot Lightning attack
The Lightning’s big guns drive their machine. Nikita Kucherov pulls strings on the half wall. Brayden Point darts into soft ice and finishes. Steven Stamkos still needs one look on the circle. St. Louis knew that. They answered with layers, not lunges.
The Blues’ forwards tracked hard through the middle. The defense kept sticks active in lanes. That cut off cross-ice feeds and forced Tampa Bay to settle for point shots. St. Louis also managed the puck well at the offensive blue line. Risk was measured. Dump-ins came with support. Offensive shifts ended below the dots, not with odd-man rushes the other way.
- Three keys that swung the night
- Clean exits under pressure, especially after icings
- Hard reloads that erased Tampa’s second wave
- Composure in the final minutes and in the shootout
This is the exact template teams need to beat a skill-heavy group. You do not out-glitz the Lightning. You make them play through you for sixty minutes, then you win the tense moments.
Jordan Kyrou’s moment and what it says
Kyrou’s winner was the snapshot of his growth. The talent has never been in doubt. The hands, the burst, the release, all top tier. What stood out here was his poise in a game state that often exposes nerves. It was a veteran finish, not a hopeful try.
The Blues need Kyrou to be a driver, not just a highlight. This is the kind of night that builds that identity. When he pushes pace, he stretches defensive coverage and opens lanes for Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich to work. When he hunts pucks on the backcheck, the Blues turn defense into transition in one stride.
St. Louis is at its best when Kyrou is the first forward up ice and the first forward back.
What this means for both teams
For St. Louis, this is a launch point. The schedule tightens in the middle third of the season. Points get harder. Coaches lean on matchups. The room knows it cannot chase the race late. Banking two against the league’s hottest team brings belief you cannot fake.
For Tampa Bay, this is a reset, not a panic button. The winning streak showed a club that found its rhythm. Their power play is lethal, and their top six can tilt any game. They were due for a grind, and they got one. The challenge now is simple. Park it, protect your legs, and restart the machine next game.
The culture piece
These teams share a certain edge. Tampa Bay carries the swagger of banners and deep runs. St. Louis still taps into that 2019 backbone, a team identity built on heavy minutes and honest details. When they meet, you feel it. The hits land. The line changes come fast. Coaches work their boards like chess. Fans do not sit much.
Hockey seasons hinge on nights like this. A shootout does not tell you everything. It does reveal who handles pressure with calm. On this night, the Blues did.
The midseason outlook
The Blues have a path if they commit to this structure. Limit odd-man rushes. Win the middle of the ice. Let their skill break open tight games late. If the defensive core keeps denying the slot and the goaltending stays firm, this group will hang around every night. Add in a confident Kyrou, and the ceiling rises.
Tampa Bay will view this as a missed chance, then they will move on. Their veterans have seen it all. They will tweak their entries against layered looks and clean up their puck management at the blue lines. Expect a sharp response. This roster does not let good habits slip for long.
A shootout win counts the same as a blowout on the standings page. The Blues earned every inch of those two points.
The headline is clear. St. Louis met the moment, snapped an 11-game surge, and did it their way. The Blues stood up to the Lightning, stared down the tiebreaker, and trusted their star to finish. On a cold January night, that is the kind of win that warms a locker room and changes a month.
