Buffalo Sabres @ Blues 1-4 - Saturday, November 15, 2016
Jaden Schwartz and Kyle Brodziak each scored 1:35 apart in the third period to help the St. Louis Blues defeat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 at Scottrade Center.
Schwartz scored 44 seconds into the third to give the Blues a 2-1 lead, following up a Dmitrij Jaskin move to the net, and Brodziak scored at 2:19 by redirecting a backhand pass from Ryan Reaves from the low slot. Robby Fabbri and Scottie Upshall also scored for St. Louis (8-6-3), which won for the fifth time in the past 14 games (5-6-3). Jake Allen made 23 saves after getting pulled Saturday when he allowed four goals on 12 shots in an 8-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blues got back to their blue-collar style of playing physical but doing so without running around and chasing hits. The Sabres (5-7-4) lost for the third straight time on the road after starting 4-1-2. Robin Lehner made 27 saves and Sam Reinhart scored. Buffalo has scored two or fewer goals in eight straight games; they've scored 10 total in that span. Each team converted power-play opportunities in the first period. Reinhart put the Sabres ahead 1-0 at 7:55 when he was able to score on a rebound of a shot by Matt Moulson from the left circle, a puck that appeared to carom off the stick of Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. It was the second power-play goal the Blues' top-ranked penalty kill allowed on home ice in 35 chances. Fabbri made it 1-1 at 10:58 after the Sabres were called for too many men on the ice. He followed up a rebound of a shot by Vladimir Tarasenko from the left circle to make. It was Fabbri's third goal in two games after being a healthy scratch for the first time in his NHL career. Upshall scored into an empty net with 1:26 remaining.
* Jaskin received a stretch pass from Kevin Shattenkirk and used his size to make a hard, quick move at Lehner from the right. Schwartz made a move to the net to clean the play up and it got the Blues off and running.
"Playing physical but playing patient. We talked about not running around again. We got away from that two games ago. I think when we're physical, but we're in good position, it makes them run around and second-guess what they're doing back there. I think we did a good job of that." Reaves said.
"I thought as the game went along, our puck support got better and better. We started to play the short game, the team game. It was more effective as it went along.... We had a great start to the third period, and played well in the third." Ken Hitchcock said.
"When you get bounces like that, it's pretty good. [Lehner] had a nice glove save on me before that, so I just wanted to make sure I put this one in." Robby Fabbri
* Lehner denied Fabbri the opening goal in the first period by making a glove save on a shot from the slot with 10:01 remaining.
* Reaves has set up both linemates with beautiful saucer backhand passes this season. He led Brodziak perfectly to the slot, and the center redirected the shot over Lehner to give the Blues a 3-1 lead.
* Lehner did all he could to give the Sabres a chance, and his point-blank save on Blues center Patrik Berglund during a Buffalo power play 1:10 into the second period kept it 1-1.
* The Blues have won nine in a row against the Sabres and 19 of the past 21 games.
* Steen did not play the third period because of an undisclosed injury. He hit his head on the glass in the corner of the Buffalo zone after a check from Gorges in the second. ... Shattenkirk and Colton Parayko each had two assists for St. Louis.
"Playing physical but playing patient. We talked about not running around again. We got away from that two games ago. I think when we're physical, but we're in good position, it makes them run around and second-guess what they're doing back there. I think we did a good job of that." Reaves said.
"I thought as the game went along, our puck support got better and better. We started to play the short game, the team game. It was more effective as it went along.... We had a great start to the third period, and played well in the third." Ken Hitchcock said.
"When you get bounces like that, it's pretty good. [Lehner] had a nice glove save on me before that, so I just wanted to make sure I put this one in." Robby Fabbri
Nashville Predators @ Blues 1-3 - Saturday, November 19, 2016
The St. Louis Blues have responded accordingly after allowing eight goals in a loss on Nov. 12 in Columbus. The Blues came home, did some soul-searching and found a remedy this past week by getting back to playing disciplined hockey in their building. The result was a three-game winning streak following a 3-1 decision against the Nashville Predators at Scottrade Center. Blues center Kyle Brodziak scored the game-winner when he converted a backhand rebound of Scottie Upshall's shot at 7:28 of the third period after Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne made the initial save off an odd-man rush. It was Brodziak's second goal in three games after he had not scored in the first 15.
David Perron and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for St. Louis (10-6-3), which improved to 8-1-2 at Scottrade Center, including getting points in the past eight (6-0-2). Jake Allen made 30 saves to improve to 6-0-2 on home ice.
The Predators (7-7-3), who went 1-2-0 on a three-game road trip, got a goal from Mike Ribeiro. Rinne made 31 saves for his first regulation loss in November (5-1-2). Perron put the Blues ahead 1-0, extending his point streak to four games after he scored on a backhand at 3:09 of the second. Ribeiro tied the game 1-1 on the power play at 8:59. Tarasenko scored off another odd-man rush, converting a wrist shot from the slot at 11:36 of the third to give the Blues a 3-1 lead.
"It isn't that the game was just on the line. We outplayed all three teams. So from every aspect of our game -- from special teams to shots on goal to scoring chances -- we outplayed all three teams. That's the No. 1 sign for me. We upped our energy as the game went on. I thought, overall, of the three games, this was probably the best game we've played." Ken Hitchcock on the Blues outscoring three opponents 5-0 in the third period this past week
"The [defenseman] kind of played it well where there wasn't much open space in between us. [Upshall] made a great play, and when you get a chance like that, it was on purpose. A lot of people don't probably understand that a shot off the goalie or a pass off the goalie makes sense, but it's a play he tried to make and it was a good one." Brodziak said.
The Predators (7-7-3), who went 1-2-0 on a three-game road trip, got a goal from Mike Ribeiro. Rinne made 31 saves for his first regulation loss in November (5-1-2). Perron put the Blues ahead 1-0, extending his point streak to four games after he scored on a backhand at 3:09 of the second. Ribeiro tied the game 1-1 on the power play at 8:59. Tarasenko scored off another odd-man rush, converting a wrist shot from the slot at 11:36 of the third to give the Blues a 3-1 lead.
* The game-winner by Brodziak was textbook from Upshall, who purposely targeted Rinne's pads on the initial shot off the 2-on-1 to create a rebound once he saw Brodziak crashing the net.
"Yeah, we work on that shot a lot," Upshall said. "I got Pekka on it last year actually. I knew he knew it was coming, but it was just a great play by Kyle to go far pad, far post. He made a good play to get that puck on his backhand. It was a good goal."
* Allen's save on Mattias Ekholm right before the Tarasenko goal with 8:38 remaining was a two-goal swing for the Blues that turned a potential 2-2 game into a 3-1 St. Louis lead.
* The Predators weren't creating the kind of traffic at Allen like the Blues were at Rinne until Ribeiro crashed the net and was able to find a loose puck behind Allen, who made the initial save on Craig Smith's shot.
* Perron's goal was executed in three phases. Center Paul Stastny won the offensive zone faceoff, defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's slap shot from the left point created a rebound and Perron went to the net and scored.
* Predators right wing James Neal had his six-game goal-scoring streak end. ... Predators left wing Colin Wilson (upper body) was a late scratch and was replaced by Cody Bass. ... Blues forward Alexander Steen missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury.
"The [defenseman] kind of played it well where there wasn't much open space in between us. [Upshall] made a great play, and when you get a chance like that, it was on purpose. A lot of people don't probably understand that a shot off the goalie or a pass off the goalie makes sense, but it's a play he tried to make and it was a good one." Brodziak said.
Blues @ Boston Bruins 4-2 - Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Jake Allen made 39 saves and Robert Bortuzzo and Paul Stastny scored 2:12 apart in the second period to help lead the St. Louis Blues to a 4-2 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Jori Lehtera scored his first goal in seven games in the second and got an empty-net goal in the third period for the Blues (11-6-3), who have won four in a row and won for the first time in their past five road games. Colton Parayko and Patrik Berglund each had two assists. Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara left the game after skating one shift in the second period and did not return. Bruins coach Claude Julien didn't have an update after the game. David Backes, a former captain of the Blues, scored in his first game against St. Louis since signing with Boston on July 1. Dominic Moore scored and Tuukka Rask made 24 saves, and the Bruins (11-8-0) lost for the first time in their past four home games. Backes scored on a rebound of his own tip-in attempt for a 1-0 lead at 7:44 of the first period. St. Louis took advantage of Chara's absence in the second period and outshot Boston 14-12. Lehtera's deflection of a Parayko shot at 3:23 tied the game 1-1. The Bruins challenged because they thought there was goaltender interference on the play but the goal was upheld after review. Boston regained the lead 2-1 on Moore's shorthanded goal at 8:59 after he beat Allen with a wrist shot. But Bortuzzo scored on a rebound at 13:59 for his first goal of the season to tie it 2-2. Stastny gave the Blues a 3-2 lead with his fifth goal of the season and first in nine games. Lehtera scored into an empty net at 18:44 of the third period for the 4-2 lead.
* Stastny scored the game-winning goal on a rebound of Jaden Schwartz's shot after a solid cycle of the puck in the right circle.
* After Bruins center David Krejci stole the puck in front of the St. Louis net, Allen made a blocker save at 15:43 of the third period.
* With the Bruins pressuring with a 6-on-5 advantage, Allen went post to post to rob Ryan Spooner at 18:31 of the third period.
* Bruins defenseman Torey Krug got his 100th NHL assist. ... Krejci got his 484th NHL point to tie Don Marcotte for 15th in Bruins history. ... Berglund (two assists) had gone 11 games without a point.
"Yeah I think if you ask the family or people outside the situation, you are happy for him, he gets his goal. As a team we are happy because you know we got our two points and now we look forward to tomorrow." Paul Stastny on giving up a goal to former Blues captain David Backes
"A little weird at first but you realize you're wearing different jerseys and you're playing for keeps. You get a couple bumps and I wish, I think the whole team [wishes], that we had a different outcome tonight." David Backes on facing the Blues for the first time
Blues @ Washington Capitals 3-4 - Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Alex Ovechkin scored a hat trick to help the Washington Capitals defeat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 at Verizon Center. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored, and Braden Holtby made 18 saves for the Capitals (12-5-2). Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice, and Alex Pietrangelo scored for the Blues (11-7-3), who got two goals in the final 1:15 but had a four-game winning streak end. Carter Hutton made 21 saves.
Ovechkin scored on the power play at 17:28 of the first period to give Washington a 1-0 lead. His shot from the left circle went top corner on Hutton, who was playing in place of Jake Allen, who made 39 saves in a 4-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead at 10:12 of the second period. His first attempt from the left circle was saved by Hutton, but Andre Burakovsky kept the puck in, passed it to John Carlson, who set up Ovechkin. Tarasenko scored at 10:48 of the second to make it 2-1. His first attempt was saved by Holtby but Tarasenko scored on the rebound past Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner, who dove to block the shot. Kuznetsov scored off a feed from Dmitry Orlov to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead at 6:31 of the third.
Ovechkin's third goal of the game, 12th of the season, was scored at 6:53 of the third period. He came down on the rush unchallenged and scored over Hutton's catching glove. The hat trick was Ovechkin's first of the season and 16th of his NHL career, the most among active players. Pietrangelo scored on the power play with 1:15 remaining to make it 4-2, and Tarasenko's second goal made it 4-3 with 29 seconds remaining.
"I think [Kuznetsov] was flying today. I hope he's back on his game. When he has confidence, he controls the puck on his stick and he goes back and forth. It helps us as wingers when you see your centerman play well." Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin on Evgeny Kuznetsov
"When we mounted the comeback in the second period and we got some momentum back, we got beat up the ice on two of the rushes. We got caught on the rush and we got beat up the ice."
"They've got a good team over there. Some days you're not going to have it all the time. But how you check, and when you don't use your legs you end up using your stick, and that's what's happening. There was too many of them early in the game. It sends the wrong message to the rest of the team." Ken Hitchcock
Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead at 10:12 of the second period. His first attempt from the left circle was saved by Hutton, but Andre Burakovsky kept the puck in, passed it to John Carlson, who set up Ovechkin. Tarasenko scored at 10:48 of the second to make it 2-1. His first attempt was saved by Holtby but Tarasenko scored on the rebound past Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner, who dove to block the shot. Kuznetsov scored off a feed from Dmitry Orlov to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead at 6:31 of the third.
Ovechkin's third goal of the game, 12th of the season, was scored at 6:53 of the third period. He came down on the rush unchallenged and scored over Hutton's catching glove. The hat trick was Ovechkin's first of the season and 16th of his NHL career, the most among active players. Pietrangelo scored on the power play with 1:15 remaining to make it 4-2, and Tarasenko's second goal made it 4-3 with 29 seconds remaining.
* Hutton stopped Justin Williams' point-blank one-timer with a swift right-pad kick save.
* The sequence that led to Ovechkin's second goal was almost as impressive as the goal. Burakovsky fed the puck through his legs to Kuznetsov as he skated through the neutral zone. He sent the puck cross-ice to Ovechkin for his first attempt. The rebound skittered toward the boards, and Burakovsky got to it and sent it to Carlson at the point. Carlson set up Ovechkin perfectly for his signature one-timer from the left circle.
* Washington forward Jay Beagle won two neutral-zone faceoffs late in the third period after St. Louis scored two quick goals. Capitals coach Barry Trotz credited Beagle's faceoff wins with helping them maintain puck possession and hold off the Blues.
* Ovechkin's 110 multigoal games are the most in the NHL since 1995-96.
"I think [Kuznetsov] was flying today. I hope he's back on his game. When he has confidence, he controls the puck on his stick and he goes back and forth. It helps us as wingers when you see your centerman play well." Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin on Evgeny Kuznetsov
"When we mounted the comeback in the second period and we got some momentum back, we got beat up the ice on two of the rushes. We got caught on the rush and we got beat up the ice."
"They've got a good team over there. Some days you're not going to have it all the time. But how you check, and when you don't use your legs you end up using your stick, and that's what's happening. There was too many of them early in the game. It sends the wrong message to the rest of the team." Ken Hitchcock
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