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Last Sunday, a Nashville Predator named Nick Blankenburg ran into the Blues’ best player, Robert Thomas. It looked vicious. And — was it knee-to-knee? So the Blues’ Zack Bolduc — a rookie skill player — promptly did something a veteran big body would do: Hit the hell out of Blankenberg.

Bolduc jumped on top of him and crosschecked him, twice, in the back. The rookie got a game misconduct and, later, a fine of $2,248.26, the maximum a player can receive under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Bolduc’s actions are all you need to know about a Jim Montgomery hockey team.

The “Monty� Blues step up for each other, play for each other, fight for each other and … win with each other.

Is it possible that coach Montgomery is even better than we anticipated?

His pedigree and connection to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ was encouraging. But what the Blues have done under “Montyâ€� has been extraordinary. They entered Saturday’s game as winners of eight in a row. Since Montgomery replaced the fired Drew Bannister, his Blues have gone 30-16-6 for the seventh-most points in the National Hockey League.

And, of course, the Blues are currently in a playoff spot.

It is fair to point out that the Blues struggled for some stretches there with Montgomery as coach. There were simultaneous growing pains and a learning curve. But now, at the absolute right time, the team has become a team.

“He’s been able to unite the group … and you can sense the commitment from everyone to the bigger picture,� Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said by phone. “I think that starts with his leadership and his demands on a team game — and the sacrifices that he makes enjoyable for each other, I think, resonate to our group. And not only when we’re on this winning streak, but you could sense that the players were committed to playing for each other.�

Wait, what does “enjoyable sacrifices� mean?

“You look at our power play units, they are very evenly dispersed, where some teams stack up the one unit,� Armstrong said. “We believe that the strength of our organization, quite honestly, is the strength of the pack, not the wolf. And he has two balanced units. And I see joy when each unit sees the other unit scores. Just small things like that.�

In February, the rested Blues took off after the 4 Nations Face-Off break (ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ has a 14-2-2 record entering Saturday). And whether they play beautiful hockey (such as recently in the 6-1 win against Montreal) or find-a-way hockey (such as the couple games before that one), the boys just kept winning. Entering Saturday, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ had the best goal differential in the NHL since the break (plus-33). The Blues scored 72 goals (most in NHL) and allowed 39 (fourth-fewest).

But when you watch the Blues lately, what stands out isn’t just the scoring but the fierce, fearless attempts to prevent scoring (and that’s not just the play of acrobatic goalies Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer). Dudes are blocking a bunch of shots. There are few things more “team-first� — in any team sport — than hockey players sacrificing their bodies to block shots.

For the year, the Blues are 22nd in the NHL in blocked shots per game.

But since the break, the bruised Blues have the 10th-most blocked shots per game.

Heck, even Jordan Kyrou has blocked a few shots lately.

“We have a high level of commitment on blocking shots,� Armstrong said. “And then just you look at the bench on a blocked shot, the admiration the players have for the guy doing it, it’s just there’s small things that go on that build those layers to a winning group. And then Jim’s found a way to incorporate that into the players, knowing that whatever sacrifice they make, it’s better (for everyone). You know, we don’t have a superstar like a (Connor) McDavid, so the strength of our team is always going to be the team.�

Armstrong pointed out that Montgomery’s “outgoing, gregarious� personality has permeated in a positive way around the Blues. And people gravitate to it. “Monty,� also, can be very, very honest, but the criticism, Armstrong said, is constructive.

Bolduc, for instance, has flourished under Montgomery — he has the second-most goals of any NHL rookie since the late-November hire. Hofer has earned the coach’s trust to be a reliable fill-in. Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg look like stars in the making.

And captain Brayden Schenn, himself an inspiration to teammates, has become inspired by “Monty.� And unlike last year, it’s not just Schenn dropping gloves or making physical sacrifices for the team.

Asked Montgomery’s biggest impact, Schenn recently said: “I think getting everyone to believe in themselves or one another, or as a group together, whether we’re playing hard for each other every night. He’s a guy that’s a great communicator, talks to his players all the time. He’s around the locker room, he brings humor some days. He lets guys know where they stand, and I think guys really respect that. …

“He definitely has a positive attitude, no doubt about it. Obviously, we’re not the only team where he’s had success. He makes guys feel important in their locker room, and when your coaches make you feel like that, whether individually or as a team, guys play hard for one another and play hard for the organization.�