A busy four-game week kicked off with a three-game trip to Western Canada including a set of back-to-back games against the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. With four games in six days and a defenseman sustaining an injury, this was a week that St. Louis Blues fans did not want to miss.
Here’s the latest news and rumors surrounding the Blues.
The Week That Was
Blues vs Flames
The Blues kicked off their Western Canada road trip in Calgary. After an onslaught of shots on goal through the first 20 minutes of play, they were fortunate to leave the ice only down by one goal despite being outshot 17-10. Flames defenseman Mackenzie Weegar scored his 11th of the season at the 11:38 minute mark to provide his team with the first-period lead. However, the veteran forward Brandon Saad tied the game at one 8:27 into the second period with a wrist shot past the blocker of netminder Jacob Markstrom.
Looking to reclaim their lead, Flames defenseman Noah Hanifan scored on a slapshot at 11:13 with his eighth goal of the season. Two minutes later, Yegor Sharangovich scored on a wrist shot off the rush to extend their lead to 3-1. Despite a slashing penalty to forward Alexey Toropchenko at 17:06, Blues captain Brayden Schenn scored on a shorthanded breakaway to bring his team back within one goal. It was the first shorthanded goal of his 903-game career.
Down by one goal entering into the third period, the Blues continued to press offensively with no success at registering a shot on net. Finally, forward Jordan Kyrou scored his 13th goal of the season on a wrist shot 6:56 into the period. Despite a back-and-forth period, both teams were unable to find much success offensively and looked destined for overtime. It was the veteran Saad that denied that notion scoring his 13th of the year and second of the night with 48 seconds remaining in the game. The Blues went on to win the game 4-3 despite being outshot 35-26.
Blues vs Canucks
With a recent win under their belts, the Blues took on one of the top teams in the Western Conference, the Vancouver Canucks. 21-year-old forward Jake Neighbours got the scoring started midway through the opening period at the 13:14 mark on a one-timer pass by Robert Thomas from behind the net just after coming off the bench. Just over two minutes later, the Blues continued to push and found success with Pavel Buchnevich making it a 2-0 game after tapping in a cross-crease pass from Neighbours only 19 seconds into a power play opportunity.
With no success offensively for either club in the second period, the Blues looked to close out the final 20 minutes with a two-goal lead. However, the powerhouse Canucks managed to find success only one minute into the third on Pius Suter’s 10th of the year on a backhanded rebound past Blues goaltender Joel Hofer. However, Alexey Toropchenko reclaimed their two-goal lead only 41 seconds later. Vancouver continued to push offensively and eventually managed to crack through the Blues’ defense as Suter scored two goals to tie the game and send it to overtime. The Blues needed only 1:54 of play though as Schenn notched the overtime game-winning wrist shot goal past the glove of goalie Casey DeSmith. The Blues were outshot 32-18.
Blues vs Kraken
Riding a three-game winning streak and a one-day break, the Blues crossed the border and turned their attention to the Seattle Kraken. Forward Oskar Sundqvist opened the scoring with a powerplay goal at the 7:39 mark, his sixth goal of the season. The lead would not last long though with Brian Dumoulin using Colton Parayko as a screen and sending a quick snap shot off the post and past goaltender Jordan Binnington.
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The Kraken managed two quick goals against the Blues in the second period as both Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen scored their 13th goals of the season. Bjorkstrand scored on the power play after defenseman Marco Scandella went to the box on a questionable illegal check to the head penalty to Jared McCann was called. Tolvanen extended the Kraken’s lead 6:42 into the second period on a wrist shot after stealing the puck from defenseman Scott Perunovich creating a 2-0 opportunity for him and Yanni Gourde to play tic-tac-toe to score against Binnington. The Blues managed to push back offensively cutting the lead 3-2 at 15:01 after Thomas tipped in a powerplay goal from a shot from the point by Perunovich.
Looking to tie the game, Buchnevich scored his 15th goal of the year only 1:27 into the third period on a wrist shot pass from Thomas behind the Seattle net. The Blues managed to weather the offensive pressure from Seattle preventing all 14 shots against them to force a second overtime game in a row. Buchnevich scored his second goal of the game 3:31 into overtime as St. Louis rallied for their fourth straight win defeating the Kraken 4-3. Former Blues forward Jaden Schwartz suited up for his 700th career NHL game.
Blues vs Kings
An early matinee game saw the Blues return home against the Los Angeles Kings as they searched for their fifth straight victory. With the two teams battling hard against one another, the Kings managed to score first only 4:06 into the period with Adrian Kempe scoring on a one-timer pass from Anze Kopitar. The Blues managed to tie the game though 12:51 into the period on a slapshot goal by Nick Leddy.
The scoring continued only minutes into the middle frame as the Kings reclaimed their one-goal lead as Jared Anderson-Dolan scored his first of the year on a shorthanded goal after Alex Laferriere was called for a hooking penalty against Blues defenseman Torey Krug. On the same powerplay, the Blues knotted the game once more as Buchnevich netted his 17th of the year. The two teams continued to trade opportunities and ended the frame still tied, but at three goals each with Kyrou scoring for St. Louis and Philip Danault for Los Angeles.
After trading chances through the final 20 minutes of play, the Blues went to their third-consecutive overtime game and looked to keep their winning streak alive. The Blues captain put the team on his back managing to send fans home happy scoring 1:04 into the overtime frame after receiving a stretch pass from Buchnevich along the boards beating goaltender David Rittich.
Here’s a look at where the Blues rank statistically among the rest of the NHL:
- Team Record: 26-20-2
- Goals Scored: 139
- Goals Against: 151
- Power Play: 15.5%
- Penalty Kill: 78.0%
- Faceoff (%): 49.1%
Blues Recall Tucker
With his conditioning stint coming to an end, defenseman Tyler Tucker was recalled from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. Tucker, 23, has played in 15 games for the Blues this season, scoring two points (one goal, one assist) and 22 penalty minutes. With the Thunderbirds this season, he has recorded six penalty minutes and a plus-2 rating in six games.
The Blues will play one more game before Thomas heads to the All-Star Game and the rest of the team enjoys their break as they welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets to town on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm CST.