Joel Hofer continues hot start as Blues calm Hurricanes 4-3

ST. LOUIS — Young St. Louis Blues goalie Joel Hofer is having a unique start to the 2024 NHL season.

The 24-year-old has won each of his first three starts of the season, the first of which being a comeback victory at San Jose in overtime. On Thursday, he became the first goalie in NHL history to have a shutout performance and an assist in the same game.

This time, Hofer protected the net with 37 saves, as the Blues defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Saturday, Oct. 19, in the Enterprise Center.

“He’s been a brick wall for us,” Blues forward Dylan Holloway said of Hofer. “It's nice having a goalie playing that well.”

Hofer was drafted by the Blues in 2018 and made his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season. He has been the No. 2 goalie in the depth chart behind Jordan Binnington, an eight-year veteran who was on the 2019 Stanley Cup championship team and is approaching the franchise record for wins.

Last year was the first time Hofer has seen significant time in front of the net, where he started 27 of his 30 games and posted a 15-12 record. That was also the season in which head coach Drew Bannister was brought in as an interim.

The young goalie has been earning his trust ever since.

“He's maturing. He's a year older. He's starting to learn the league. He's starting to learn the shooters. He's seeing different teams that have different offenses on the structure where the plays might be coming from,” Bannister said. “I love his compete. He doesn't quit on pucks, extremely competitive. His strength is getting across on east-west plays to be able to close off — a perfect example is the play in the second period, kind of like, cross his pass, and he's able to get over and get a glove on it. That strength for that size and the youth obviously goes a long way, but there's been a big improvement in his strength.”

It wasn’t easy for Hofer at the start of the game. Carolina established an early lead with a goal from Andrei Svechnikov two minutes into the game. The Hurricanes put up 19 shots on goal in the first period, while the Blues only shot four times.

“He was under siege a few times,” Bannister said. “Obviously they're a team that puts a lot of pucks to the net from everywhere. So you have to be on your toes as a goalie. You can't be surprised by anything, and I thought he stood tall and did a great job.”

His resiliency was rewarded in the second period, as the Blues scored three goals in a span of 3:09. Mathieu Joseph and Jake Neighbours each scored a goal within a minute of each other and Holloway scored his first goal of the season to give St. Louis a 3-1 lead.

Joseph’s goal was made extra special by the assist from his brother, Pierre-Oliver Joseph, who are playing together for the first time in their NHL careers.

“It’s always cool,” Joseph said. “I think he's been playing some good hockey and we're still adjusting to the system, the guys, the players, everything, and I think it's just gonna get better.”

Shayne Gostisbehere and Jack Roslovic scored for Carolina to tie the game 3-3 in the third period. The Blues regained the lead shortly after as Kasperi Kapanen snapped the tie with a goal 4:26 into the third period.

The Blues will conclude their season-opening homestand on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets.