Blues vs. Golden Knights: Justin Barron's First Four-Point Night Powers a 6-2 St. Louis Rout

On Sept. 27, the St. Louis Blues claimed Justin Barron off waivers from Nashville, the kind of transaction that gets one line on the wire and zero lines on the evening news. On Thursday night, the defenseman was the evening news.

Barron scored a goal and set up three more, the first four-point game of his career, as the Blues beat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-2 at Enterprise Center. Dylan Holloway scored twice in the third period and added an assist, Jimmy Snuggerud had a goal and an assist, and St. Louis answered every Vegas push with one of its own.

A Power Play and a Waiver-Wire Wonder

St. Louis struck first on the power play. With Noah Hanifin off for hooking, Connor McMichael sent a long shot on net, Jonatan Berggren kicked the rebound out front and Pavel Buchnevich lifted it just under the crossbar at 10:00 of the first. NHL.com noted the Blues have now scored a power-play goal in five straight games, going 6-for-17 in that stretch, for the first time since Jan. 3-10, 2023.

Barron made it 2-0 at 13:49. Otto Stenberg's forecheck knocked a puck loose, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki found Barron charging into the right circle, and the defenseman whipped a wrist shot in off the left post. It was his first goal since April 16, 2025, and his first in a Blues sweater, and Kaskimaki picked up his first NHL point in his seventh career game.

"We were just forechecking with Otto and did a good job there, got the turnover from them and nice shot from Barron," Kaskimaki said.

Vegas Keeps Knocking

Vegas had answers, just never enough. At 5:38 of the second, a Hanifin shot from the left point struck Brett Howden's stick in front, and Howden gathered the rebound and tucked it past Joel Hofer for a 2-1 game. Alexander Holtz picked up the second assist. It was Howden's fourth goal in five games.

Less than three minutes later, Mason McTavish restored the cushion. He won an offensive-zone faceoff, drove to the net and redirected an Adam Jiricek point shot through Adin Hill's legs at 8:30 for a 3-1 lead.

Then the bounces turned. Jack Eichel drove up the left side 4:08 into the third and tried to center a pass for Mark Stone at the back post. Instead the puck caromed in off the skate of Blues defenseman Cam Fowler. Suddenly it was 3-2.

"It was a bad bounce, in our opinion," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. "It went off our own skate. We're boxing out and it goes in our net. You have to overcome stuff like this."

St. Louis Slams the Door

They did. At 8:21, Snuggerud used Hanifin as a screen and beat Hill from distance with a wrister to the stick side, his third goal in as many games. About two minutes later, Robert Thomas fed a backhand pass to Holloway in the high slot, and Holloway snapped it past Hill for a 5-2 lead at 10:29.

Holloway was not done. After Jeremy Lauzon went off for roughing, Jake Neighbours set him up at the low edge of the right circle, and Holloway buried a one-timer on the power play at 16:05. That was the dagger.

"Well, I mean, every time we scored, they scored, right?" Eichel said.

Barron, Holloway and the Hot Hands

Barron's final line: one goal, three assists, a plus-4 and 20:23 of ice time. He factored into goals by McTavish, Snuggerud and Holloway in addition to his own, and NHL.com noted he now has five points (one goal, four assists) in seven games with St. Louis.

"I feel like I'm a part of this team," Barron said. "I just wanted to come in (with) obviously a little bit of a clean slate."

Holloway logged 18:40 and is on a heater, with 10 points (three goals, seven assists) during a six-game point streak. McTavish has nine points in his past eight games and has a point in eight of the Blues' 10 games. Thomas did his work quietly with an assist, four blocked shots and 10 faceoff wins against 10 losses.

In goal, Hofer stopped 26 of 28 shots for a .929 save percentage. Hill had a rough night at the other end, making 25 saves on 31 shots for an .806 mark. Eichel scored his sixth and, per NHL.com, has seven points in his past five games, while Howden has six points in his past six. Vegas played without Mitch Marner, and Holtz drew into the lineup.

Turning Point: Snuggerud's Answer

Eichel's fluky goal had Vegas within one with more than half the third period to play. One more Golden Knights goal and this is a completely different night. Instead, Snuggerud needed just over four minutes to reopen a two-goal lead, and the Blues scored the final three goals of the game.

"If you're going to beat the best teams in the League, you've got to be able to overcome adversity and it was great to see how we responded," Montgomery said.

Stats That Matter

• 2-for-2: The Blues' power play. Vegas did not draw a single penalty.
• 36-13: Vegas' edge in hits. The Golden Knights won the physical battle and lost by four.
• 31-28: St. Louis' edge in shots, and the Blues made more of theirs count.
• 4: Barron's points, a career high.
• 6-2: The final score in each of Vegas' past four games, two wins and two losses, per NHL.com.

What It Means

St. Louis improves to 5-4-1 with 11 points and has won two straight to open a five-game homestand, after back-to-back road losses in Minnesota and Nashville. The Blues are 3-0-1 at Enterprise Center, and they host Carolina on Saturday night. Montgomery knew the caliber of opponent. "That's the Stanley Cup finalist," he said.

Vegas drops to 8-4-0 with 16 points and has lost two in a row, both 6-2, starting with a home loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The Golden Knights head to Columbus on Saturday night. Coach Ryan Craig did not sugarcoat it. "That's two games in a row of kind of putting ourselves in some tough situations," he said.

Vegas Is Stuck on Repeat

Four straight games, four 6-2 finals. The Golden Knights have turned into a playlist with one song on it, and lately it has been the wrong side of the track. Meanwhile, a waiver claim just had the night of his career, and his coach called it the team's best effort in a long time: "that was the best game we've played since the (2025 Stanley Cup) Playoffs."

Montgomery summed it up: "We played the right way tonight."

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press and NHL.com; postgame quotes as reported by NHL.com.