The St. Louis Blues haven't had many worries recently. But coming off a 6-0-1 homestand, coach Ken Hitchcock thought they had something to prove. So when Kevin Shattenkirk scored the only goal of the shootout in a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Friday, the Blues did more than extend their winning streak to four games. The Blues (31-13-4) are 9-0-1 in their past 10 games and had an impressive start to this game. After a strong forechecking shift, Steve Ott threw a no-look backhand pass to Ryan Reaves between the circles, where he got a quick shot past Hurricanes goalie Anton Khudobin at 1:58 of the first period. Reaves, who has a goal in two straight games, credited newly linemate Marcel Goc, acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, for adding a boost to the fourth line. The Blues kept the pressure on the Hurricanes (17-25-6), scoring 1:27 later to take a 2-0 lead. After defenseman Justin Faulk blocked a shot, Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo fed David Backes in the slot for his 17th goal, eighth in his past nine games. The momentum quickly stalled when the Hurricanes pulled Khudobin in favor of Cam Ward, who made 29 saves in relief. Carolina answered on its first shot of the game at 10:57. Forward Jay McClement's hard work in the corner paid off when he found Faulk, who lifted a wrist shot from the right point past the screen of Brad Malone to make it 2-1. Carolina tied the game in the second period on its first power play. Ryan Murphy's shot from inside the blue line deflected off Backes and bounced past Allen at 14:19. The goal was Murphy's first of the season and was assisted by Riley Nash and Jordan Staal. Neither team scored again in regulation, but the goaltenders were sharp. Allen stopped a wrist shot by Jeff Skinner and a tip by Jordan Staal in overtime, two of his 26 saves. Ward was at his best in the third period, stopping shots by Paul Stastny and T.J. Oshie in a flurry in the final minutes. Backes extended his career-best point streak to nine games. Allen then held the Hurricanes at bay on all three shots in the shootout, although Chris Terry appeared to have him beat. Allen stopped Victor Rask and Eric Staal. Shattenkirk, who scored the shootout winner Thursday in a 5-4 win against the Nashville Predators, beat Ward inside the post to the blocker side. The Blues defenseman has seven game-deciding shootout goals among his eight successful attempts. Carolina's loss was a blemish on a strong January, when they are 7-2-2. The Blues will play three of the next four on the road, including on Sunday at the Washington Capitals.
Blues Quotes
Ken Hitchcock: "This was a big game to win. We played back to back, and our record was only two games over .500 on the road (11-9-2). To start off the second half of the season with a big road win is important, so they deserve a lot of credit. The thing that helped Carolina was changing the goalie. They hit the reset button. We had the two shifts where we hit the goal post then missed the empty net. Otherwise, it's 3-0 or 4-0."Ryan Reaves: "Goc has come in here, and the chemistry seems to be there early. He's adding a little patience to our line, especially in the defensive zone. He's getting the puck out so me and [Steve] can go to work in the offensive zone. We wanted to come in after the All-Star break with the same confidence. We've come off the break feeling good and we're keeping it rolling."
David Backes: "It seems to be a commonality for the team on the second game of a back-to-back. You're already into the swing of things. You sort of pick up where you left off. Towards the end, in the second half of the back-to-back, we didn't have as much legs. Jake did a good job keeping us in there."
Kevin Shattenkirk: "They just woke up, to be honest. They came with a much harder game and much better push. That was the team we expected to see. I try to look to shoot, and if it's there, I go for it. Luckily, it surprised [Ward] a little bit."
Jake Allen: "I just try to be as patient as I can, just sort of outwait them. Terry made a nice move, and luckily it got the crossbar. Sometimes it's a crapshoot, but you just try to outwait the guy."
No comments:
Post a Comment