St Louis Blues on The Hockey News

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Oskar Sundqvist, beloved by many St. Louis Blues fans, who recently signed a two-year contract extension, will be made a healthy scratch on Thursday against the Ottawa Senators.

With Zach Dean set to make his NHL debut on Thursday, Sundqvist was one of the extra forwards skating at Wednesday's practice along with Sammy Blais and Nikita Alexandrov.

Sundqvist, who has 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) and is one of 11 Blues to play in all 69 games this season, has gone 13 straight games without a point, and interim coach Drew Bannister feels a reset is in order.

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"I think 'Sunny's a heart and soul guy," Bannister said. "I feel like a little of his play's dropped off probably because of the grinds that we're in, in March. I think for him, it's just getting him a reset and getting him rest. He's going to be an important player for us moving forward here. He's going to go right back in, in Minnesota."

Sundqvist, who returned to the Blues last summer on a one-year, $775,000 contract, signed a two-year, $3 million contract on March 7 to remain with the club moving forward.

* NOTE -- Veteran Torey Krug was missing from Wednesday's practice due to maintenance reasons, and Bannister said it's nothing that should keep the defenseman out of the lineup against the Senators.

Veteran Marco Scandella was skating in Krug's spot on defense with Justin Faulk.

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Zach Dean showed up to the practice rink at Centene Community Ice Center with no expectations, just another day of skating and preparation in the every day life of being in the NHL.

Until the unexpected happened: he saw his name among the regular line combinations.

Zach Dean (52) will make his NHL debut with the Blues against the Senators on Thursday in Ottawa, 15 minutes from where he played his junior hockey in Gatineau, Quebec.

St. Louis Blues

Dean, 21, will make his NHL debut for the Blues (36-30-3) on Thursday when they open a two-game trip against the Ottawa Senators (28-35-4).

Dean, the 30th pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights for Ivan Barbashev on Feb. 27, 2023. Barbashev went on to help the Golden Knights win a Stanley Cup, his second after winning with the Blues in 2019, and Dean will step onto the ice at Canadian Tire Center on Thursday night making his solo lap in pregame warmups.

"It was pretty crazy coming in and finding that out this morning," Dean said after practice on Wednesday. "Obviously it's not until tomorrow so I get a little time to think about it, but just overall, I'm super pumped and excited."

The Blues recalled Dean, who had 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 47 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League, on March 11 prior to their game against the Boston Bruins. He's practiced and  been a healthy scratch in the five games since being called up but until Tuesday's 4-3 loss against the Colorado Avalanche, the Blues had been winning and didn't want to change lineups yet. And Dean understood why.

"Oh yeah for sure," Dean said. "I was just happy to get the call to come up here and be around the guys, see how everything works. It being my first call-up, I think I'm just taking everything in, I'm enjoying each day."

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Dean skated on a line centering Alexey Toropchenko and Nathan Walker.

"I'm just going to play my game and just embrace the moment," Dean said. "It's your first game, it only happens once, so just kind of go in there and enjoy it and obviously play my game."

It works out great for Dean, who grew up in Newfoundland but played his junior hockey for four years with the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, a short 15-minute drive to the north.

"I lived 10 minutes from there, my girlfriend's from Ottawa," Dean said. "All her family, my billets from last year, coaches, everyone that's still kind of around that area, it's pretty cool that I'm going to get to play my first game there for sure."

Dean had yet to inform his parents, Trent and Kendra Dean, of the recent developments of finding out, but he is hopeful they can make the flight in from Newfoundland.

"Yeah hopefully. It'll be exciting to have everyone there," Dean said. "It would be a flight. From Newfoundland, there's normally not a lot of direct flights anywhere. Where I've been, it's usually kind of they've got to make one or two stops along the way."

Dean will be the most recent Blue to make his NHL debut. Zack Bolduc, the 17th pick in the 2021 draft, Dean's competitor when Bolduc played with the Quebec Remparts in junior hockey and Thunderbirds teammate, made his debut with the Blues Feb. 22 against the New York Islanders.

"For sure, it's an exciting day," Bolduc said. "It happens once in a life. Just enjoy it and for sure it's a huge day, stressful day, but you've got to enjoy it as much as you can because it only happens one time.

"We've been playing together as first-year pros. Fun to be here for his first game, so really excited for him. It's special. We played against each other for the past four years. Now we're together for first-year pros. He's going to play well. I played my first game 13, 14 games ago. Getting more comfortable, but I'm just excited for him and he just has to enjoy it as much as you can."

Blues interim coach Drew Bannister felt it was time.

"I think that's a good plan here," Bannister said. "He's been sitting around here for a while and we want to give him an opportunity to come up and play. It gives us an opportunity to put fresh legs in the lineup. From what I know about 'Deaner', he skates well, he plays with a lot of pace. Where he plays tomorrow night, I think it's going to help our club, but getting fresh legs into the lineup, it's an important game for us. We want to make sure we're rested and ready to go."

After sitting and watching, Dean is ready for action.

"Since I got drafted and you kind of get to be around a lot of the guys and obviously now, it's regular season and you see how they act and how they play, I think it helped me a lot," Dean said. "Now coming in, getting to be in the lineup after being here for a week, some skates, just being around seeing how everything works. I think it'll be a lot easier on me. I'm sure I'll get a little bit nervous, but overall I'm just super excited."

Related: Blues sign Lindstein to three-year, entry-level contract

Related: Blues player of the game vs. Avalanche: Brayden Schenn

Related: Avalanche-Blues takeaways: Kyrou penalty, Buchnevich turnover costly against opportunistic, talented Colorado for St. Louis in 4-3 loss

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Even as they're locked into trying to secure a Western Conference wild card spot this season, the St. Louis Blues continue to secure their future when they announced they've signed defenseman Theo Lindstein to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Lindstein, 19, was the 29th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and has played this season in his native Sweden for Brynas IF in HockeyAllsvenskan and played in 49 games; he has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) and is a plus-13 rating. 

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Lindstein burst onto the scene at the 2024 U-20 World Junior Championships in Sweden, leading the tournament among defensemen with eight points (two goals, six assists), leading Sweden to a silver medal before losing to Blues first-round pick in 2022, Jimmy Snuggerud and USA.

Lindstein was nominated to the tournament All-Star Team. 

Lindstein also led Sweden to silver at the 2023 U-18 World Junior Championships and gold at the 2022 U-18 World Junior Championships.

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Even as they're locked into trying to secure a Western Conference wild card spot this season, the St. Louis Blues continue to secure their future when they announced they've signed defenseman Theo Lindstein to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Lindstein, 19, was the 29th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and has played this season in his native Sweden for Brynas IF in HockeyAllsvenskan and played in 49 games; he has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) and is a plus-13 rating. 

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Lindstein burst onto the scene at the 2024 U-20 World Junior Championships in Sweden, leading the tournament among defensemen with eight points (two goals, six assists), leading Sweden to a silver medal before losing to Blues first-round pick in 2022, Jimmy Snuggerud and USA.

Lindstein was nominated to the tournament All-Star Team. 

Lindstein also led Sweden to silver at the 2023 U-18 World Junior Championships and gold at the 2022 U-18 World Junior Championships.

ST. LOUIS -- In a game when two fourth-line forwards score for the St. Louis Blues, one should feel good about their chances of winning, even against the high-powered Colorado Avalanche.

Nathan Walker and Alexey Toropchenko and provided some positive energy for the Blues, who were trying to match a season high fifth straight win and matching wits with the red-hot Avalanche, who were on a six-game heater of their own.

Avalanche-Blues takeaways (3-19-24) (4:00)

But when you're playing against a high octane team, mistakes can be costly, and although the Blues didn't make a plethora of them, they made enough that proved to be costly in a 4-3 loss at Enterprise Center on Tuesday.

"That's what happens when you play a team like that that's very opportunistic and they can jump on your mistakes," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "We made four mistakes in that game. Certainly we made other ones, but mistakes were costly."

It was a game in which the Blues (36-30-3) generated plenty of offense, a game in which they certainly could have won. But mistakes were made at the wrong times and can be magnified at times like this against teams that have the talent to punish you, like Colorado (44-20-5), which has outscored its opponents 31-13 in winning seven in a row.

The Blues, and the entire NHL when playing the Avalanche, can get fixated on doing their best to focus on solely stopping Nathan MacKinnon and with good reason; he came in leading the NHL with 115 points (42 goals, 73 assists) in just 68 games, and the Blues did another good job in limiting him to one assist but he did extend his point streak to 16 games (10 goals, 22 assists). It was Mikko Rantanen, who sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, that punished the Blues on this night. 

Instead of doing the usual three-period rundowns as we've done previously at The Hockey News-St. Louis here, let's just go to the key points of the game, highlight them and discuss how important those plays were:

* Rantanen's opener -- When Rantanen made it 1-0 at 6:36 of the first period, if you watch the play, the Blues actually do a pretty decent job of not giving too much time and space to MacKinnon along the wall, and Justin Faulk even bumps him enough to get some disruption in there, but elite players make elite plays, and MacKinnon found Rantanen in the slot for a sublime release into the top corner that Jordan Binnington didn't have much of a chance at.

The only thing here is defenseman Scott Perunovich, albeit not egregious, gave Rantanen enough room to collect and shoot. If he is tighter on the play, perhaps he can disrupt the play enough to not allow the shot.

What a pass, what a finish!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/DN9n5sQjUN

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 20, 2024

* Walker's response -- You have to like the Blues' resolve. Colorado has the uncanny ability to bury teams when they feel like they have them down. This wasn't the case here.

Walker's goal tied the game 1-1 at 8:48 of the first, or 2:12 after Rantanen made it 1-0.

It started with a key, savvy breakup by Zack Bolduc, who intercepted a Devon Toews clearing attempt in the Avalanche zone.

In doing so, the Blues were able to keep the puck alive with a cycle by the Kevin Hayes line for a minute before Walker, coming in off the bench when Kasperi Kapanen came off the ice, got a puck from Perunovich, who pinched behind the goal, circled around the right and found Walker, who had acres of ice to step into the left circle and bury a wrister.

"It's always nice when you can help out," Walker said. "It would have been nice to get the win though.

"'Haysie's line did a great job, lots of cycles, wearing them down and it was just a great change by Kapi. I think I got lost a little bit just in the mix there."

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!
TIED! TIED! TIED! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/VrvlREL6dF

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 20, 2024

* Fourth line keeps the momentum humming -- It was Toropchenko's turn to keep the momentum humming for the Blues.

His goal at 4:44 of the second gave the Blues a 2-1 lead off another cycle play, the puck to Faulk at the right point, a simple wrist shot with bodies there, including Oskar Sundqvist, and Toropchenko crashing the net benefitted from a carom off him past Justus Annunen.

"Yeah I thought we were playing pretty well," said Walker, who had an assist on the play. "We seemed to get the puck in deep and kind of do what we do. It just happened for us tonight."

Goal Horn: HOOONKKKKKKKK!!!!! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/B3XaVL9UKG

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 20, 2024

* Momentum didn't last -- The Blues' momentum was stifled, however, and it shouldn't have.

Former Buffalo Sabre Casey Mittelstadt tied the game 2-2 at 6:41 of the second, or less than two minutes after Toropchenko's goal, off a face-off win. But if you look at the Blues on the play, they the Blues forwards get discombobulated on the play, missing out on coverage in the circle. Pavel Buchnevich gets lost in coverage on the play but Perunovich also gets pinched on the wall by Jonathan Drouin that allowed Samuel Girard to curl the puck back to the circle for a quick shot that Faulk couldn't block.

Mitts with the equalizer!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/Q0JT1HJkup

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 20, 2024

* Another response -- But the Blues responded again, and this time, they were opportunistic off a turnover.

Brayden Schenn gave the Blues the lead again at 3-2 at 8:43 of the second when Jake Neighbours, who was thrust up on that top line, picked off a Rantanen pass in the Blues zone, leading to a 2-on-1. Neighbours feathered a pass to Schenn in the slot and he wasted little time burying it.

OHHHHHHH,
OHHHHHHH
HEY!!!!
HEY!!!! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/OVFKE55NDK

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 20, 2024

* Not a smart penalty -- Most penalties taken are not good, but some are, especially if you directly prevent a goal.

The one Kyrou took late in the second period categorizes as a bad one.

It wasn't as egregious as some, but it was enough that it was deemed unnecessary.

While Andrew Cogliano was moving into the zone along the wall, he was tripped up by Kyrou at 18:24 of the second.

This is why Drew Bannister wasn't happy. Momentum-changing play #stlblues pic.twitter.com/q5lTUAJfqj

— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) March 20, 2024

It led to Rantanen's tying goal at 18:46 to make it 3-3 instead of the Blues leading 3-2 after two.

M🚨🚨SE#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/5gjo3C0LL8

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 20, 2024

What got Bannister upset was not only the timing but also a defenseman (Torey Krug) in position to take the puck.

"It was a penalty. It's a bad penalty," Bannister said. "It's a penalty you can't take at that time of the game."

* Another ill-advised, costly mistake -- The Blues simply needed to manage the third period properly, and in order to do so now in a tie game instead of a lead.

They always say making passes in one's own zone is dangerous. 

Buchnevich made the grave mistake of it when without duress, he tried forcing a pass into Colton Parayko, it got intercepted by the trailing Valeri Nichushkin, and Rantanen sniped Colorado into the lead 4-3 at 4:15 of the third period. 

Mikko's third of the night gives us the lead!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/oWJuoofDV3

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 20, 2024

It was evident that Buchnevich had a safety net right in front of him in Brandon Saad but chose to make the more dangerous attempt even though MacKinnon had that part of the ice clogged up.

Every time I watch this, I'm mind-boggled by what Buchnevich sees in the first arrow when he has a wide open Saad right in front of him and instead he forces a pass into Parayko when there's an Avs player right there waiting. No excuse for a veteran to be making. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/bW6NSoz8k7

— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) March 20, 2024

Now the Blues were chasing the game, and a team that knows how to win is locking  down a one-goal lead on the road, which it did despite the Blues generating ample amount of offense.

"It was a playoff style of game," Blues defenseman Nick Leddy said. "I thought both teams had a lot of chances, both teams did a lot of good things. I look at that team over there, it's a very good team. I thought we did a lot of good things. They just got one more than us."

"Guys played hard, guys competed, guys battled," Schenn said. "That’s a good team over there that has a lot of firepower, a lot of skill. Right there, and unfortunate to not come away with at least one point tonight."

The Hockey News Archive

ST. LOUIS -- Things have certainly changed for Brayden Schenn.

The St. Louis Blues captain went through another rough stretch where he wasn't scoring and couldn't buy a goal, and wasn't even getting many, if any, shots on goal.

Blues player of the game vs. Avalanche: Brayden Schenn (1:26)

Since being elevated off the middle to the wing with Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, and then Jake Neighbours, Schenn has two goals in three games, including one on Tuesday in a tough 4-3 loss against the Colorado Avalanche.

Schenn relishes in being the F1 when playing the wing, and he's certainly been more noticeable in doing so.

The captain played 22:21 on Tuesday and had three shots on goal (seven attempts), four hits and was a perfect 5-for-5 winning face-offs.

Schenn scored a nice-time shot off a 2-on-1 with Neighbours in the second period to give the Blues (36-30-3) a 3-2 lead that unfortunately for them didn't last.

The Blues finished the night with a line of Schenn-Thomas-Neighbours that was effective, and the captain led the way, which bodes well moving forward.

"Jake’s playing great. He’s making plays. He’s got good jump. He’s skating well," Schenn said. "He’s scoring goals. I’ve played a lot of hockey with Jake, and I really enjoy it. 

"The three of us were able to, I felt, get it going there in the second and little bit of parts of the third. It’s a tough matchup, too. These guys play at an extreme pace. It’s not just one guy, you’re playing a five-man (unit). Forwards are all 6-foot-3, 200-plus pounds. That’s a dominant line as well as two top 'D' to go with it. It’s a tough task. They’re going to get chances, you just try and limit them as much as possible."

Schenn was talking about matching up against Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen, as well as defensemen Devon Toews and Cale Makar and still made an impact in the game to earn player of the game honors.

Jimmy Snuggerud, the 23rd pick in the 2022 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues, was named to the 2023-24 All-Big Ten Conference First Team on Tuesday.

The forward put up 34 points (21 goals, 13 assists) in 37 games for the Minnesota Golden Gophers this season, his second in the NCAA after he had 50 points (21 goals, 29 assists) in 40 games last season.

Award SZN. 🏆

Here is your 1st-team All-@bigten selections. 🏒#B1Gtoday pic.twitter.com/ocBKvvt6SW

— Big Ten Hockey (@B1GHockey) March 19, 2024

Snuggerud, 19, has also played for the past two seasons for USA at the World Junior Championships, helping them claim the gold medal in this year when he had five goals and three assists in six games.

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Snuggerud, who could leave college and sign his first professional contract at the conclusion of this season, which hasn't been decided yet, sits now and awaits with the Golden Gophers (22-10-5) where they will head to when the NCAA Tournament brackets are released.

With St. Louis and Centene Community Ice Center being one of the sites for a regional March 29-31, there's a chance for Blues fans to see Snuggerud in action before he dons the Bluenote for the first time.

Stay tuned.

Related: Blues player to watch vs. Avalanche: Colton Parayko

Related: (3-19-24) Avalanche-Blues Gameday Lineup

ST. LOUIS -- Two teams on winning streaks will collide today when the St. Louis Blues (36-29-3) host the Colorado Avalanche (43-20-5) at 7 p.m. on BSMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).

The Blues, who are four points out of the second wild card from the Western Conference, need to continue to string wins together and are currently on a four-game winning streak. Meanwhile the Avalanche, winners of six straight, are in a logjam atop the Central Division standings tied with the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars, all tied with 91 points so plenty at stake when the puck drops tonight, the finale of a four-game homestand for St. Louis.

"Always exciting," Blues center Robert Thomas said. "These guys have had our number in the playoffs, not last year but the years before and we've had a good rivalry with them. These games are so meaningful, it just makes it that much more exciting.

"It's always fun. They've probably got the best five-game unit in the league. It's a tough challenge and we're going really need everyone tonight to step up."

Thomas and linemates Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou will be seeing lots of Nathan MacKinnon tonight. MacKinnon, who had a 19-game point streak end here on Dec. 29, is on a 15-game point streak currently (31 points; 10 goals, 21 assists)but also leads the NHL with 115 (42 goals, 74 assists).

"He's got 115 points, so he's playing pretty damn well," Thomas said. "It'll be a fun challenge for our team."

What the Blues did effectively when they shut MacKinnon down on Dec. 29, a 2-1 Avalanche win, is take away the forward's time and space.

"It's definitely key," Thomas said. "It's pretty hard. He moves pretty fast. He's pretty quick and agile. With those guys, it's probably easy to just try and not let them get the puck in the first place."

"He's had a lot of matchups that are tough, so this is just another one," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said of Thomas. "I feel like he's risen to the occasion when he's had those opportunities, whether it's [Connor] McDavid in Edmonton. I really feel like he's stepped up his game. I would imagine he's going to come here and play hard tonight."

Schenn, who is good friends with MacKinnon, sees a player that's playing at another level.

"Just his determination, determination to be the best," Schenn said. "I think if you look at him and probably McDavid, they're an example for the rest of the league for how hard they work, how much they're doing with stuff off the ice in order to prepare themselves for the on-ice game."

- - -

The Blues won't make any roster changes, for obvious reasons that they're winning, but one tweak will see Brandon Saad and Zack Bolduc flip spots.

"The thought process is I really liked the change with [Kevin] Hayes, Bolduc and [Kasperi] Kapanen," Bannister said. "I thought they played well when we made that change towards the end of the second and into the third. I thought they were a real good line. Had Saad and 'Jakey' there with 'Schenner' but wanted to get 'Buchy' back into the middle, so that was kind of the thought process there."

- - -

Also, the plan is to keep the power play units in place that ended Sunday's game in which the Blues scored three third-period goals in a 4-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks.

Bannister flipped Torey Krug for Justin Faulk and Kyrou for Schenn on the top unit and it produced three goals.

"They had a lot of success in the third period and won the hockey game for us," Bannister said. "I want to go back with that tonight and see how it goes. Hopefully they continue to have the success and move the puck the way they did."

Also on the second unit, Bolduc was taking reps, flipping in and out with Scott Perunovich.

"I want to see a guy that's willing to shoot the puck," Bannister said. "I think that's why he's there. We have enough passers on that power play. When he goes in there, I'm not looking for him to make plays, I'm looking for him to get the shot off. He's got a good release, so I want to see him use that."

- - -

With no lineup changes again, it means Zach Dean, acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights late last season for Ivan Barbashev will be a healthy scratch again.

"The guys have earned the right to be in the lineup again," Bannister said. "We'll monitor that as we move forward. Certainly we want to give 'Deaner' a chance, but the guys have earned the right to bein the lineup here tonight and the challenge ahead of us make sure they're ready to play."

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Brayden Schenn-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou

Brandon Saad-Pavel Buchnevich-Jake Neighbours

Zack Bolduc-Kevin Hayes-Kasperi Kapanen

Alexey Toropchenko-Oskar Sundqvist-Nathan Walker

Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko

Torey Krug-Matthew Kessel

Scott Perunovich-Justin Faulk

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Marco Scandella, Sammy Blais, Nikita Alexandrov, Tyler Tucker and Zach Dean. The Blues report no injuries.

- - -

The Avalanche's projected lineup:

Valeri Nichushkin-Nathan MacKinnon-Mikko Rantanen

Artturi Lehkonen-Casey Mittelstadt-Jonathan Drouin

Miles Wood-Ross Colton-Zach Parise

Brandon Duhaime-Andrew Cogliano-Yakov Trenin

Devon Toews-Cale Makar

Samuel Girard-Josh Manson

Jack Johnson-Sean Walker

Justus Annunen will start in goal; Alexandar Georgiev will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Caleb Jones and Joel Kiviranta. Logan O’Connor (hip) is out.

Related: Blues player to watch vs. Avalanche: Colton Parayko

ST. LOUIS -- It's no secret that with the last matchup at home, Robert Thomas and his linemates will be seeing a lot of Nathan MacKinnon tonight when the St. Louis Blues look to extend their winning streak to five games against the red-hot Colorado Avalanche, who are on a heater themselves winning six straight.

Blues player to watch vs. Avalanche: Colton Parayko (1:50)

Thomas and the Blues halted MacKinnon's 19-game point streak when he came in here on Dec. 29, and they'll look to do the same here tonight with MacKinnon on another heater, a 15-game point streak (31 points; 10 goals, 21 assists).

And as much as Thomas will be seeing him, so will Colton Parayko, and that's why he is tonight's player to watch.

Parayko has always seemed to rise to these challenges, and the feeling is that Parayko will be getting a lot of minutes in this game, and he will be implementing his big and strength against the speed, size and agility of MacKinnon.

If the Blues (36-29-3) are to extend their winning streak to five, Parayko and partner Nick Leddy will have to have a big hand in it defending Colorado's bevy of weapons.

"I think that's a big piece to it too is our back end being able to defend against players like MacKinnon, like [Mikko] Rantanen," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "So there's certainly that aspect. We're going to have to defend as a unit of five here tonight against those players."

The Hockey News Archive

ST. LOUIS -- Considering where the St. Louis Blues are in the standings and what they have to do to remain in the Western Conference wild card hunt, at this point, anything less than two points on any given night would be damaging to their chances.

The Blues (36-29-3) have been able to bag a four-game winning streak together after a rather slow, subdued start before doubling up the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Sunday.

It'll be another tall order for the Blues and Robert Thomas (18) going against Mikko Rantanen (96) and the Avalanche on Tuesday.

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

There have been some real good tests in this small stretch of wins, including wins against the Boston Bruins (5-1), Los Angeles Kings (3-1) and Minnesota Wild (3-2 in a shootout) before the power play rescued Sunday's win.

Now comes another true test, one in which could go a long way in determining of the Blues can keep their smaller playoff hopes alive when they entertain the red-hot Colorado Avalanche (43-20-5), who come in on an even bigger heater than the Blues winning six in a row and outscoring their opponents 27-10 following a 3-2 overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers when Artturi Lehkonen scored with 0.5 seconds remaining in OT.

View the original article to see embedded media.

The Blues are four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card in the Western Conference, eight points behind the Nashville Predators for the first wild card, so they have to keep on winning in any fashion at this point. As long as two points are in the bag.

"A huge game," Blues center Robert Thomas said after scoring two third-period power-play goals Sunday. "They're playing really well. They've beaten some really good teams lately and they're on a roll. It'll be a good challenge for us."

As they showed in Boston, the Blues have the opportunity to stay toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the league and should use Tuesday as a benchmark game.

"Yeah absolutely," Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. "One of the best teams in the league and obviously playing for standings and for position in the Central and we're trying to get in. It's two teams that need points.

"Obviously they're playing really good hockey right now, it's going to be a good challenge for us. We're going to enjoy a day here, we're going to enjoy this win and get ready for Colorado tomorrow."

In outscoring their opponents 15-6 the past four games, defenseman Justin Faulk said the Blues have to continue to build, "some momentum hopefully.

"We know we have to battle, we know we have to keep going, try and play consistent and have an effort every night," Faulk added after the game Sunday. "There's going to be nights like tonight, hopefully not too may of them where you don't have your stuff necessarily in the first period, but you've got to keep digging. You can't fold and you have to take advantage of your opportunities. We found a way [Sunday] and we know Tuesday's going to be a much tougher test. We've got to be ready from the start, but we've just got to keep going and take it one game at a time."

The Blues have dropped two of three against the Avs this season but the most recent matchup, a 2-1 Colorado win here on Dec. 29, the Blues felt like they were the better team and just didn't cash in offensively.

There can be no such shortcomings this late in the season with 14 games remaining.

Can Oskar Sundqvist (right) and the Blues derail Nathan MacKinnon (29) and the Avalanche on Tuesday? They need to rise to the occasion and collect two points from another stiff challenge. 

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

And remember the last time Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon was here last time, Thomas and the Blues held the forward to one of his rare zero-point games and ended a 19-game point streak (36 points; 13 goals, 23 assists); he comes to town on another heater with 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) in a 15-game point streak.

"I think we put ourselves in a position coming off two weeks of hockey where we didn't play well," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "We're starting to play well, better. We seem to always get up for teams that are highly-competitive like Colorado. I think it's going to be a good indication, but depending on how the game goes, there's still lots of hockey to be played here in front of us. Our main objective here is to keep moving forward, get as many points as we can and win as many hockey games moving forward here towards the end of the season."

With a three-point performance against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night, St. Louis Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich has accumulated four points in his last five games. Though all three of his assists were on the power play, this could be a promising sign of a potential breakout for the Russian forward shortly. 

Buchnevich's performance during the 2023-24 season has been statistically remarkable. He has now achieved his seventh three-point game, a feat only one player in the franchise's history has accomplished in the past 20 years. This places him in the elite company of former St. Louis Blue Vladimir Tarasenko, who achieved nine three-point games during the 2021-22 season. 

Jeff Le-USA TODAY Sports

His three-point performance also helped him cross the 50-point mark this season, becoming the first Blues player to record at east 50 points in each of his first three seasons with the club since former Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly, who recorded four straight campaigns between 2018-19 and 2021-22. 

Should the Blues hope to return to the postseason, they will need Buchnevich to return to form and the dynamic point-producing level that saw him record 30 goals and 76 points in 73 regular season games during the 2021-22 season. 

St. Louis' victory over Anaheim put them on a four-game winning streak and four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference  

ST. LOUIS -- It was a classic trap game for the St. Louis Blues, one they've fallen into a few times this season.

They were coming off a big, emotional win against the Minnesota Wild -- 3-2 in a shootout -- on Saturday in which they played extremely well. It was their third win in a row but had to turn around less than 24 hours again and do it all over again. 

Ducks-Blues takeaways (3-17-24) (5:54)

Against a lesser opponent, one in which had lost five in a row and shut out twice, outscored 15-2 on its current four-game road trip that ended on Sunday.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, by all indications in the first period when the Blues had three power-plays and came away empty-handed, then allowed the first goal to the Anaheim Ducks, it was a case of skating in what seemed like quicksand on Sunday.

But an altered power-play in the third period worked to perfection when Robert Thomas scored twice, and Jake Neighbours added one when the Blues scored three times with the man advantage and doubled up the Ducks, 4-2, at Enterprise Center on Sunday.

"It's nice. Tough back-to-back," Thomas said. "Two games in under 24 hours. Those games are always tough, especially when they're kind of waiting on you. We found a way to win and that's the important thing. I don't think it was our best game by any means, but when you find a way to win, you can't complain."

Let's dive into Sunday's takeaways:

* First Period -- The power play could have made a difference for the Blues in the first period when Olen Zellweger was whistled for slashing at 2:39. There was sufficient zone time, but the Blues just couldn't seem to penetrate the middle of the ice and came away empty-handed.

Then came a Frank Vatrano minor for slashing Kevin Hayes at 9:41 when Hayes and Kasperi Kapanen dangled the puck on a string to finally induce a second man advantage.

But again, there was nothing in the form of a final finish against the 30th-ranked penalty kill in the league.

"We felt it didn't give us much energy," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said of the power play. "In fact, it probably took energy away from our group in the first period."

And true to form, the coach was right. 

Troy Terry scored off a rebound past Joel Hofer at 13:41 to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead, their first goal in 171:50 dating to last Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks. It came after the Hayes line got caught running around in the zone, and Terry pounced on a juicy Joel Hofer rebound off Pavel Mintyukov's sharp-angle shot from the bottom of the left circle.

There was a sequence not long after when defenseman Justin Faulk got picked in the neutral zone giving Anaheim a 2-on-1 but the Ducks' Vatrano fanned on a bouncing puck.

But St. Louis would be given another reprieve when Urho Vaakanainen was called for high-sticking Brayden Schenn at 17:20.  

The strangest thing occurred then when Thomas shot a puck eight seconds into the man advantage that broke defenseman Cam Fowler's stick. When Anaheim forward Jakob Silfverberg gave his stick to Fowler, he was left without one. What he did after was something else.

Thomas moved out to the right point, and Silfverberg followed him there basically shadowing him the entire time while the Blues were essentially on a mini 4-on-3. Thomas stayed out of the play and moved along the wall down to the corner too trying to help the Blues gain an edge with a man up and more ice to work with.

It went on for nearly a minute until Lukas Dostal gloved Pavel Buchnevich's shot with 1:33 remaining.

"I hadn't seen that before," Thomas said laughing. "I really didn't know what to do, so I just kind of stood in the corner and let a 4-on-3 happen. I don't know if it's the right play or not, but I think they had a couple close looks. 

"Interesting. We were having a conversation the whole time he was just standing there. It was pretty funny."

Talking about what?

"I was just trying to figure out what he was doing," Thomas said. "He seemed to have a good laugh at it. I guess it worked out for him."

But it was another empty power play, despite the Blues having a combined five shots on the three in the opening period, but they trailed 1-0 and outshooting Anaheim 9-7.

Needless to say, the energy from the game against the Wild wasn't there in the opening 20 minutes.

* Second Period -- There wasn't a ton going on in the third period either. The Blues weren't sharp in their zone to start it off. Zone exits were sloppy, plays weren't being made. It was a mess at the outset.

Torey Krug took the Blues' first minor, a slashing minor, at 9:10, but the Ducks didn't too anything terribly dangerous on it.

Hofer, who had a nice game with 26 saves, would come up with a solid glove save on Leo Carlsson cutting through the middle on that power play.

All in a day's work for Hof 💼#stlblues | @pncbank pic.twitter.com/yv3yihjR8Z

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 18, 2024

There just wasn't a good pace to the game for the Blues. The game was stagnant, the crowd was subdued. Something needed to happen.

Enter Zack Bolduc, who injected life.

The 2021 first-round pick would chip a puck into the offensive zone, and instead of allowing someone else to get in on the forecheck, he obliged and used his speed to win it from Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe, allowing the Blues to sustain zone time.

In the end, Krug would get a pass from Bolduc, turn and throw a wrister that Dostal didn't glove cleanly and Hayes was there to pounce on the rebound to tie the game 1-1 at 14:56.

That's the Wayes. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/NdiKxcK32t

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 18, 2024

"I thought we had a couple good shifts before that, but I thought Zack started to skate a little bit more," Bannister said. "... We moved guys into certain positions, different lines, but he seemed to start moving his feet. It did seem to get everybody going at that time for whatever reason, but he was one guy that started to move his feet a little bit more and create a little bit more on his puck and start making plays."

Bolduc did seem energized on his ensuing shifts but took an unfortunate slashing penalty with 46.1 seconds left in the second. 

It would be a crucial time for the Blues, who needed to win a third period after tying the game 1-1 after two and outshooting the Ducks 19-18. They seemed to get some jump from the Hayes goal, thanks to Bolduc.

* Third Period -- The Blues were getting through the kill as well as possible, and it ended up being better than they thought when Leo Carlsson, the second pick in the 2023 NHL Draft behind Connor Bedard, tripped Faulk at 59 seconds.

There would be 15 seconds of 4-on-4 and then the Blues would take on a crucial power play for 1:45.

Recognizing how stagnant things were with it in the first period, the coaches switched personnel, moving Faulk in for Krug with that top unit and inserting Schenn into Jordan Kyrou's spot on the left flank.

It worked when Thomas made it 2-1 at 1:53 when Schenn would reverse a puck back to Faulk off the left wall, Faulk was looking for Thomas, but Buchnevich tipped it to him, and Thomas used Neighbours screening Dostal to wrist a shot in from inside the right circle in the high slot.

"THOMAS WITH A LASER! POWER-PLAY GOAL!!! 2-1 ST. LOUIS!" #stlblues pic.twitter.com/Z20x7DucOW

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 18, 2024

"Sometimes you get stale," Thomas said. "We haven't been too good lately. It was nice to get rewarded. I think Jake did an incredible job in front of the net and was a big factor in all three of those goals."

Bannister added, "I think we felt after the second period that we needed to make adjustments on the power play and just change it up to see if we can get some life on our power play."

Anaheim's penalty troubles continued when LaCombe was called for holding at 5:52, and Neighbours would cash in for a 3-1 lead at 6:12. He would be in his spot, parked in front and tip Schenn's wrister from the left circle past Dostal.

Jake Neighbours is good at hockey. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/BwCzKkjyrF

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 18, 2024

"I think it's effective," Neighbours said of his 17th goal from inside the dots or the slot. "It's tough for a goalie to react when pucks are changing direction right in front of them. I'm trying to get better at it and work at it. I'm kind of lucky. I was trying to tip it down and it went up. I'll take the lucky bounce. That's 'Schenner' just being a smart shooter. He sees it's the goalie, can't really see the release and just puts it in a god spot. I got a lucky bounce."

And it would be a trifecta of minors for the Ducks in the third, this time on Max Jones for holding at 8:23, and Thomas would get his second of the game at 9:33 to make it 4-1 when he put a shot-pass into the crease looking for Neighbours' stick but it caromed in off LaCombe's stick.

OHHHH, OHHHH
HEY!! HEY!!! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/Yu7MK7z6Oi

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 18, 2024

"Just more direct," Thomas said. "I felt like we moved the puck well, just couldn't finish on those last plays in the first period and we were able to do that in the third.

"[Neighbours] makes a living around the net. He's hard down there, he's open, he screens. He does a lot of little things that make all the world. I think he deserves a lot of credit for the power play's success tonight."

Faulk agreed.

"Not just on the net front and the power play, he plays hard, right," Faulk said. "He's willing to go there, he's willing to do the hard things out there. Not everyone likes to play that way, but he does. It's a little bit of an old-school mentality but he's willing to go there and he's getting rewarded for it. It's kind of a thankless job at times.

"... We knew we had to be aggressive. We had a few that didn't go our way. Just had to get something going."

The Blues were managing the game well from that point on and were on their way to a fourth win in a row. With a three-goal lead, the Blues were looking to get Thomas his hat trick, Neighbours his second when the Ducks pulled Dostal with 2:00 left.

Heck, even Joel Hofer, who made 26 saves, had a moment there to see if he could get a goalie goal but momentarily fumbled the puck.

We are trying so hard to manifest a Joel Hofer goalie goal you guys

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 18, 2024

"He was actually in the gym complaining nobody would hard-rim it, so that he could get out there and try and shoot one," Neighbours said of Hofer. "If I was the other team, I wouldn't hard-rim it either. He gets out there quick and he's going for it."

And despite Anaheim pulling the goalie and scoring late when Terry one-timed a shot from the left circle with 7.5 seconds left to make it 4-2, it was another win to stay within four points of both Vegas and Los Angeles and also move within seven points of Nashville, which occupies the first wild card.

"It's a good feeling, but there's no satisfaction at all," Neighbours said. "We still got a lot of work to do and we're still chasing and we still need points. It's kind of a one game at a time attitude, keep trying to grab points when we can get them and just take it game by game. If we do our job, hopefully we'll sneak in there." 

ST. LOUIS -- Jake Neighbours made one declaration on Sunday night for the St. Louis Blues after their defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 4-2, for their fourth straight win:

"I don't think I'm going to change it," Neighbours said of his net front presence. "It's been working well for me. No plans to change it up any time soon."

Blues player of the game vs. Ducks: Jake Neighbours (1:44)

That's music to the Blues' ears, who have finally found their true net front presence player, arguably since David Backes was setting up shop there for 10 years from 2006-16.

Neighbours would affect goals scored by Robert Thomas twice and one of his own just by being that pest in the goalie's eyes. On this night, it was Lukas Dostal.

Neighbours would be the one to take Dostal's eyes away on Thomas' goal 1:53 intothe third period to give the Blues (36-29-3) a 2-1 lead, then redirect Brayden Schenn's wrist shot from the left circle at 6:12 to make it 4-1, and just by being at the net front, Thomas was credited with a goal at 9:33 when his shot-pass deflected off the stick of Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe for a 4-1 lead.

Without Neighbours there, Thomas doesn't have that option.

"I think Jake did an incredible job in front of the net and was a big factor in all three of those goals," Thomas said. "... He makes a living around the net. He's hard down there, he's open, he screens. He does a lot of little things that makes all the world. I think he deserves a lot of credit for the power play's success tonight."

It plays right into Neighbours' game when the Blues have that shooter's mentality; he can park himself at the net front and crease havoc, corral loose pucks and affect shots.

"I just thought we were being more direct, started putting stuff towards the net and that creates chaos and that's when things open up for you," Neighbours said. "
We had a good game plan coming in and just weren't executing. I thought in the third, we executed."

ST. LOUIS -- There's no time to relax for the St. Louis Blues (35-29-3), who get right back on the horse today when they host the Anaheim Ducks (23-41-3) at 6 p.m. (BSMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).

The Blues have won three in a row and are coming off an emotional 3-2 shootout win against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. The win moves them within four points of the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card in the Western Conference.

Morning skate report vs. Ducks (3-17-24) (2:25)

The Blues, who haven't faired too well against some of the bottom-tiered teams in the league this season, are facing a Ducks squad that is closing out a four-game trip in which they've been shut out in back to back games, been outscored 15-2 and have lost five straight games.

Anything less than two points tonight will be considered a big failure.

"It's an important game for us," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "The end result for us is we can't look at the standings and where Anaheim is at right now and think that this is going to be an easy game for us. They have some young players that are in their lineup that are going to come to work. I'm sure they have some other guys that are battling for jobs, whether it be in Anaheim or somewhere else next year. They're a rested hockey team, they didn't play yesterday. For us to think this is going to be an easy game for us would be wrong and it's too important for us to think that. It's an important two points for us.

"If we take care of our game and manage the game properly, play the way that we have the last three games, we'll be fine, but we have to make sure that we're ready to play."

The Blues, who will not make any lineup changes from last night other than Joel Hofer will start in goal for Jordan Binnington, have tightened things up defensively, allowing just four goals in their winning streak.

"I think so, I think we're getting a little bit better," Bannister said. "I think there's still room to improve, but certainly last night, I thought we did until maybe when the game's 2-0 and they started to really push. I thought there were times where we could have done a better job with the puck. I thought in the first two periods we looked fast in the way we managed the puck and moved the puck. At times, I thought we looked like a slower hockey team mainly because of some of our puck decisions and forcing us to defend."

- - -

With another one-goal decision on Saturday, it improved the Blues to 14-2-3 in those instances.

"We have a lot of guys in the room that have won championships," Bannister said. "They know how to win in one-goal games and that's playoff hockey. Last night was a playoff game. You can't think that you're going to go into a game like that and think that there's going to be much separation between one team or the other, so have to be comfortable playing in those games and I think we have been comfortable playing in those games and we've given ourselves a chance in those games."

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Brayden Schenn-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou

Zack Bolduc-Pavel Buchnevich-Jake Neighbours

Brandon Saad-Kevin Hayes-Kasperi Kapanen

Alexey Toropchenko-Oskar Sundqvist-Nathan Walker

Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko

Torey Krug-Matthew Kessel

Scott Perunovich-Justin Faulk

Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Marco Scandella, Sammy Blais, Nikita Alexandrov, Tyler Tucker and Zach Dean. The Blues report no injuries.

- - -

The Ducks' projected lineup:

Frank Vatrano-Leo Carlsson-Alex Killorn

Brett Leason-Ryan Strome-Troy Terry

Max Jones-Isac Lundestrom-Jakob Silfverberg

Ross Johnston-Ben Meyers-Pavol Regenda

Cam Fowler-Olen Zellweger

Urho Vaakanainen-Gustav Lindstrom

Pavel Mintyukov-Jackson LaCombe

Lukas Dostal will start in goal; John Gibson will be the backup.

Healthy scratches are projected to be William Lagesson and Bo Groulx. Mason McTavish (lower body), Trevor Zegras (ankle), Brock McGinn (upper body) and Radko Gudas (upper body) are out.

ST. LOUIS -- By his own admission Saturday, Jordan Kyrou hasn't been scoring as often as he'd like to.

The St. Louis Blues forward, who came into Saturday's 3-2 shootout win against the Minnesota Wild with just one goal in 12 games, broke through with his first multi-point game since Feb. 22 when he had a goal and an assist. He then scored the shootout winner in the fourth round, just his third shootout goal in 15 career attempts.

Blues player to watch vs. Ducks: Jordan Kyrou (2:01)

"It feels nice for sure," Kyrou said of scoring. "Definitely feel like my game's been struggling a bit lately to score. It feels good."

With the Blues sitting four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card in the Western Conference and riding a three-game winning streak, it's time for Kyrou to get hot, and he has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 16 games against tonight's opponent, the Anaheim Ducks.

The balance for the Blues needs to be spread out for sure, but Kyrou is paid the big bucks to produce, and with the importance of these games, it's time to step into the limelight; he has that chance to build on it tonight.

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues played so well in their 3-2 shootout win against the Minnesota Wild at Enterprise Center on Saturday, it would have felt like a lost night had they come away empty-handed.

At times, the Blues (35-29-3) were almost clinical, from the defensive zone to creating offense. The only thing missing from their third straight win here was a larger lead and basically allowed the wild (33-27-8) to hang around, which Minnesota did long enough to tie the game in the third period.

Wild-Blues takeaways (3-16-24) (3:39)

“This time of year, stuff like that happens," said Blues captain Brayden Schenn, who scored a third-period goal and added a shootout goal to contribute to the cause. "The magnitude and pressure of games rises in the third period. Some mistakes are going to happen. We were able to, even when it was 2-2, they came at us still pretty hard, but we didn’t give them a whole lot. Come out with one point better than them tonight, we’ll definitely take that."

Blues interim coach Drew Bannister had no qualms with tonight's effort and execution either.

"Yeah, I thought we played well for 60 minutes," Bannister said. "... I thought we started well. I thought we were very direct. I thought we created a lot of good looks at the net, some good offensive chances. The power play was able to score a goal for us early in the second there. Disappointed that we gave them a point, but when they made it 2-2, I thought we stuck with our game and we found a way to win in a shootout."

Let's dive into the takeaways from tonight's game:

* First Period -- The Blues had their legs and mojo early. Bolduc had an early chance when he burst in on a 2-on-1 with Pavel Buchnevich 1:23 in but wired his shot off the angle off the side netting. He had Marc-Andre Fleury beat but just missed giving the Blues a 1-0 lead.

Then Torey Krug darted down the slot and took a pass but Fleury got a piece of the shot at 3:16. Two terrific chances to make it 2-0 early.

 "Yeah I think we were getting in good on our forecheck," said Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, who scored a power-play goal and then the shootout winner. "We were supporting each other there. We were moving pretty well in the o-zone. They play man-on-man, so we were able to spin off guys and attack the net more."

The Wild did get a great chance from the slot, but Kirill Kaprizov, who has been on quite the heater lately, fired his wrister high and wide at 3:51.

With the game having a playoff feel, there would be some chippy and feisty play. Kasperi Kapanen and Ryan Hartman each were given roughing minors at 12:05.

Fleury, who was the busier of the two goalies with Jordan Binnington, lunged and robbed Kevin Hayes with his right pad at 17:17 on a tip-in play after a saucer feed from Brandon Saad.

The Blues had the better of the play in the opening 20 minutes and outshot Minnesota 11-6 but went to the second period scoreless.

* Second Period -- The Wild were causing some havoc for the first time early, and the Blues were not connecting cleanly with their passes in the opening minutes.

Then as they started to settle in, Kyrou and Robert Thomas each had a golden chance to shoot a puck off a Wild turnover. Kyrou passed up shooting but got a puck to Thomas, who tried to return it. Neither got a shot off with the sellout crowd of 18,096 screaming to shoot the puck.

The first power play went to the Blues when Hartman tripped Buchnevich near the St. Louis offensive zone blue line at 4:49, and Kyrou finally cashed in with his 21st of the season when he finished off a nifty Jake Neighbours behind-the-back, through the legs pass through the crease for Kyrou to slam home at 5:49 and a 1-0 Blues lead.

"Yeah that was a helluva pass, pre-scouted that a little bit, get underneath their 'D' there," Kyrou said. "That was a great pass, just tapped it in.

"It feels nice for sure. Definitely feel like my game's been struggling a bit lately to score. It feels good."

Everybody in the building saw Jordan Kyrou wide open except the Minnesota Wild. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/fRy9CTu3vd

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 17, 2024

The Wild played a discombobulated period, the Blues spent a lot of the period in the Minnesota zone but couldn't solve Fleury.

Zach Bogosian backhanded a puck into the stands for delay of game and the Blues had a second power play at 15:08 but couldn't extend the lead.

St. Louis led 1-0 and was outshooting Minnesota 23-14 through two, including 12-8 in the period.

* Third Period -- As smoothly as the Blues were playing, a second goal seemed destined to be enough.

They got it when Schenn scored his first goal in 19 games (Jan. 28 against Los Angeles) just 27 seconds in for a 2-0 lead.

It came off a d-zone breakout from Nick Leddy to Kyrou, who chipped the puck by a pinching Wild defenseman Jake Middleton for an odd-man rush. With Schenn moving up the left side, defenseman Colton Parayko joined the rush, and with Wild defenseman Brock Faber indecisive whether to take the shooter or Parayko, Schenn had the space to skate into the left circle and beat Fleury with a beautiful wrist shot top right corner.

"Oh yeah, absolutely. It opens up the shot lane more," Schenn said of Parayko. "I looked at him. I just felt try and let one fly. I was able to beat Fleury.

"It feels good to contribute on the scoresheet. I’ve felt like you just have to keep on grinding and working when it’s not going your way sometimes. I was able to get a couple looks tonight and having fun playing with 'Tommer' and Kyrou."

The two-goal lead didn't last long however.

The Blues seemed to be in good shape when Bolduc fell with the puck at his stick in the defensive zone, it was turned over for them unfortunately, and Kaprizov found Marco Rossi alone in front of Jordan Binnington and he was able to put the shot through the Blues goalie at 1:10 to make it 2-1.

"A little bit of an unlucky bounce on the first goal, where one of our players [Bolduc] falls," Bannister said. "If he doesn't lose his edge, the puck is probably out of our zone and that play doesn't happen."

Enter Nathan Walker into the fray as he and Wild fellow fourth-liner Mason Shaw got into a heated skirmish at 2:37.

Nathan Walker can have both skates on the ground and kick butt at the same time. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/DZFT2yp2HG

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 17, 2024

Binnington came up with his most important save when he stopped Matt Boldy ona breakaway at 9:07.

Breakaways don't make Jordan Binnington nervous.@pncbank | #stlblues pic.twitter.com/G3hJCOQssm

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 17, 2024

The emotions would continue when Saad and Bogosian each were put in the box; Saad for unsportsmanlike conduct and Bogosian for roughing at 13:02 when Bogosian should have been called for spearing.

that wasn't very nice pic.twitter.com/MnZYGDJ3Yv

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 17, 2024

The Blues appeared to be in good shape until the Wild found a late equalizer from Kaprizov at 16:01 to tie it 2-2.

Thomas lost a face-off to Rossi, the puck wound up at the point, Bogosian found Mats Zuccarello along the left wall and he found Kaprizov alone at the right post, the puck caroming off his skate and past Binnington to quiet the crowd.

"The one mistake we made in the third period, and it ended up in the back of our net, just on coverage," Bannister said.

Each team pressed for the winner, but it would go to overtime tied 2-2 and the Blues holding a 36-22 shots edge.

* Overtime -- The Blues won the puck on the opening face-off but could never quite seem to get a high-end scoring chance until Parayko powered to the net along the left side, but Fleury answered with the nifty poke-check or else the game was over.

Thomas was at the end of his shift and tried to put a puck up the middle but it got picked off and Zuccarello had a good look from the edge of the right circle at 1:15.

Not only Thomas, but Buchnevich and Kyrou each gave the puck away, luckily for them to no harm, and ultimately in the OT, Saad had the best chance for either team, but Fleury sprawled to stop the one-timer at 3:07. 

The game would go to a shootout tied 2-2 with the Blues outshooting the Wild 37-24 for the game.

* Shootout -- Thomas would go first for the Blues and would roll his backhand wide, but Zuccarello would also miss the net wide right.

Neighbours, who came in 2-for-2 in his shootout career, would also miss coming in from the left but shooting high and wide. But Binnington kept it scoreless when he gloved Kaprizov's ticklish little wrister.

Schenn stepped up and scored on Fleury when he went to the forehand and powered a wrister home from in right. But Boldy, who had to score, kept it alive for the Wild when he came in off the right and quickly shot through Binnington's pads.

Brayden Schenn scores in the third round of the shootout but the Wild answer back and we're moving to the fourth round.
📺: Bally Sports | 📱: Bally Sports app pic.twitter.com/Xg6UtuCbA4

— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) March 17, 2024

It was on to sudden death, and Kyrou would score for just the third time in 15 attempts going backhand to beat Fleury, and it was up to Frederick Gaudreau to extend the game for the Wild but he never got a clean shot off taking himself too far wide to the right and the Blues won the game.

Wait for it... #stlblues pic.twitter.com/FvP5g5OP0t

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 17, 2024

That'll do it. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/iBHPdySM7B

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 17, 2024

"I mean, yeah. You always want to get (the full) two (points), especially against a division opponent and we’re both obviously tight in the race," Parayko said. "I think from our locker room standpoint, we’re just focusing on ourselves and trying to put two points in the bank every night as much as possible and give ourselves a chance to win. I think that’s what we did tonight. Obviously, we don’t want to give up the point, but we did gain a point, so we’ll take it."

Related: Blues player of the game vs. Wild: Brayden Schenn

ST. LOUIS -- Brayden Schenn was taken aback a couple days ago when told of his goal-scoring drought.

The St. Louis Blues captain was talking to media members when, at the time, prior to a Wednesday game against the Los Angeles Kings, that his goal-scoring drought was 17 games, which was the longest of his NHL career, surpassing one he had of 16 games earlier in the season.

Schenn's streak reached 18 games and it came to a screeching halt on Saturday when he scored a beautiful goal in the third period, then added a shootout goal of a 3-2 win against the Minnesota Wild at Enterprise Center.

Blues player of the game vs. Wild: Brayden Schenn (1:15)

"It feels good to contribute on the scoresheet," Schenn said. "I’ve felt like you just have to keep on grinding and working when it’s not going your way sometimes. I was able to get a couple looks tonight and having fun playing with 'Tommer' [Robert Thomas] and [Jordan] Kyrou."

It was a goal created off a zone exit from Nick Leddy to Kyrou at the blue line. Kyrou was able to poke it past a pinching Jake Middleton to create an odd-man rush up ice. With Colton Parayko jumping into the play making a beeline to the net, Schenn had options: shoot or dish, making it tough for Wild defenseman Brock Faber to make a decision.

"Oh yeah, absolutely. It opens up the shot lane more," Schenn said of Parayko. "I looked at [Faber]. I just felt try and let one fly. I was able to beat [Marc-Andre] Fleury."

Schenn wired a wrist shot top right corner 27 seconds into the period to give the Blues a 2-0 lead at the time.

"That was a snipe. That was a sick shot," Kyrou said. "It was a big goal of the game too."

Schenn finished the game playing 20:53 with a team-high five shots on goal, one hit, one takeaway, three blocked shots and he won four of five draws for his most complete game in recent weeks.

Saturday night against division rival, the Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas recorded his 300th point of his NHL career, moving him into 25th all-time in Blues franchise history, only six points behind former Blues forward Brendan Shanahan. 

His 300th point came on a secondary assist to forward Jordan Kyrou's second-period power-play goal to open the scoring against the Wild. 

Everybody in the building saw Jordan Kyrou wide open except the Minnesota Wild. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/fRy9CTu3vd

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 17, 2024

Despite a minor slump this month, Thomas demonstrated his resilience, finishing the game with one assist, two shots on goal, and 23:33 of time on the ice. He had produced only one point in the past six games, a goal against the Boston Bruins, leading up to the game against Minnesota. 

The milestone came in Thomas' 381st game of his NHL career. The 24-year-old is in the midst of a career year with 21 goals and 71 points in 66 games. 

With 15 games remaining in the season, Thomas will be heavily relied upon to anchor the club's top line and first power play unit to push them into the postseason. The two points earned against the Wild moved them within one point of the Wild in the Western Conference Wild Card standings but still five points behind the Vegas Golden Knights and the second Wild Card spot. 

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As the St. Louis Blues gear up for their divisional match against the Minnesota Wild, head coach Drew Bannister was asked his thoughts on defenseman Scott Perunovich's recent play and future potential. 

Bannister (49) will coach in his 39th game in the NHL and spoke highly of Perunovich, firmly believing there is yet another level to his game. 

“I think so, yeah. I think there's, you know, opportunities on the powerplay where we'd like to see him shoot a little bit more." Bannister said. "Right now that's not in his DNA but we got to pound that into him more like if he wants to be an effective power play guy. 

"He can't be a pass first all the time, so he has to look to shoot pucks more so I think that there's still room to grow in Scotty’s game, you know, defensively and even when he has the puck on the stick, but he does a lot of good things.”

Perunovich has done well in his limited number of NHL games to show that he is more than a one-dimensional offensive defenseman. He has continued to commit to improving his play and defensive abilities in his own zone. 

B. Saad (G. Post, S. Perunovich) 9:03 pic.twitter.com/rAwKePUTOa

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 8, 2024

“I think the will to go on and get pucks, that's one thing that we've talked about with Scotty. Having to go in and get pucks and try and break up plays whether it's with this stick and being able to defend with his feet and his body and we're starting to see that more consistently in his game.”

The 25-year-old has experienced multiple injuries over his career, including a broken left clavicle and a torn labrum, and undergoing wrist surgery has limited his time in the NHL. 

With 20 career points in the NHL and still searching for his first goal in the league, Perunovich should continue to get opportunities to grow and develop in all aspects of his game. 

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ST. LOUIS -- Another game, another test for the St. Louis Blues (34-29-3), who entertain the Minnesota Wild (33-27-7) today at 7 p.m. (BSMW, ESPN 101.1-FM) in a must-win for both sides to stay relevant in the Western Conference wild card race.

The Blues are coming off two straight wins, each in impressive fashion, with wins against the Boston Bruins (5-1) and Los Angeles Kings (3-1) and need the game in order to catch the Wild, who are 5-0-1 the past six games since Minnesota's last regulation loss, 3-1 here at Enterprise Center two weeks ago to the day.

Morning skate report vs. Wild (3-16-24) (2:16)

"They're all important right now," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "The task ahead, the task in front of us here (tonight) will be important. Our guys understand where we are in the standings with the situation the way it is. We know how important these games are. We'll get ourselves ready for Saturday."

The Blues will keep the same lineup from the past two games, with Jordan Binnington getting another start in goal and he'll face Marc-Andre Fleury, making his fourth straight start for the Wild.

"We get a big win in Boston, there's more energy, guys feeling good about themselves and then certainly the game against L.A., we're getting that feeling back in our room where guys are feeling good about themselves and they know where we are," Bannister said. "It's fun coming to the rink this morning knowing you're playing in meaningful games."

- - -

On Friday, Bannister spoke highly of how well the Torey Krug-Matthew Kessel defensive pairing has worked for the Blues, and it has been a solid body of work together for 24 games.

The past two games, Justin Faulk has been skating with Scott Perunovich and it has worked out as well.

"I thought they played really well together," Bannister said. "All three pairings obviously, the Leddy-'Pary' has been a real good pair for us since I've come in. Now having six healthy defensemen, 'Kruger' and 'Kess' have had some success and now you see Faulk and 'Perun' feeling good about themselves and get their game to where they want it to be, having six guys on our back end like that that can move pucks and defend is certainly for us, since the Boston game has been an added positive for our group.

"I think they both move the puck really well. I think Faulk defends hard, he's heavy, is able to end plays and Scotty had kind of come in and cleaned up pucks and get in transition. But they both transition pucks really well. We feel that we have three pairings that can defend and transition pucks up to our forwards quickly."

Perunovich could certainly benefit from playing with the veteran Faulk, having put up 14 assists in 40 games this season, but Bannister said there is another level he can get to, especially on the power play.

"I think so, yeah. I think there's opportunities on the power play where we'd like to see him shoot a little bit more," Bannister said. "Right now, that's not in his DNA, but we've got to pound that into him more. If he wants to be an effective power play guy, he can't be a pass-first all the time, so he has to look to shoot pucks more. There's still room to grow in Scotty's game defensively and even when he has the puck on his stick, but he does a lot of good things." 

- - -

Blues head equipment manager Rich Matthews will work his 2,500th game tonight.

Matthews has worked for the Blues since 2017 when he was brought in as the assistant equipment manager and took the head role in 2020.

Matthews had worked the previous 17 years with the New Jersey Devils and his career had him with the Dallas Stars and the Detroit Vipers of the old International Hockey League.

"Twenty-five hundred games, three Stanley Cups, I think he's been in the game for 27 years," Bannister said. "It's a pretty impressive stretch of hockey and teams he's been a part of. We're very lucky to have a person like him behind the scenes and what he does. Pretty proud of him on what he's done. It's quite an accomplishment to be in the game for as long as he has."

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Brayden Schenn-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou

Zack Bolduc-Pavel Buchnevich-Jake Neighbours

Brandon Saad-Kevin Hayes-Kasperi Kapanen

Alexey Toropchenko-Oskar Sundqvist-Nathan Walker

Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko

Torey Krug-Matthew Kessel

Scott Perunovich-Justin Faulk

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Marco Scandella, Sammy Blais, Nikita Alexandrov, Tyler Tucker and Zach Dean. The Blues report no injuries.

- - -

The Wild's projected lineup:

Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Matt Boldy

Marcus Johansson-Marco Rossi-Mats Zuccarello

Marcus Foligno-Marat Khusnutdinov-Frederick Gaudreau

Mason Shaw-Jake Lucchini-Vinni Lettieri

Jake Middleton-Brock Faber

Jonas Brodin-Zach Bogosian

Declan Chisholm-Jon Merrill

Marc-Andre Fleury will start in goal; Filip Gustavsson will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Alex Goligoski, Adam Beckman and Dakota Mermis. Jared Spurgeon (hip) and Joel Eriksson Ek (lower body) are out.

Related: From the word go, Torey Krug-Matthew Kessel pairing has been a great match for Blues