Blues 4, Canucks 3 in overtime
Fans in St. Louis enjoyed some playoff-like intensity and work ethic on Thursday night as the Blues defeated the Canucks in a crucial match in the chase for a Western Conference wild card playoff spot.
Zack Bolduc opened the scoring for the home team at the 15:37 mark of the 2nd period. It was actually Canucks captain Quinn Hughes deflecting the puck into his own net past goalie Kevin Lankinen. Bolduc’s wrist shot came from the right point.
Even the best in the business somehow can’t help themselves. Why a player would try to block a shot with his stick in midair never ceases to amaze. Block it you won’t, deflect it you will. Anyway, 1-0 Blues.
There were powerful ebbs and flows in this one. The Canucks dominated the first half of that period while St. Louis took over the second half of it, especially with momentum from Bolduc’s tally. That, after the Blues dominated the 1st period with a 12-3 shots-on-goal advantage. Shots were 9-9 in the 2nd.
Vancouver answered quickly in the 3rd period when Kiefer Sherwood wristed a shot past netminder Jordan Binnington at the 1:11 mark.
The Canucks kept coming with the help of Elias Pettersson’s resurgence. At 6:34, Brock Boeser scored his 200th career goal and gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead with a blast from the right circle. An assist gave ‘Petey’ a six-game point streak and nine in his last eight games.
The see saw battle became a roller coaster ride.
The Blues battled back in a big way, with two goals in 25-seconds nearing the midway mark of the period. Tyler Tucker had a point shot deflect in off Vancouver forward Jake DeBrusk’s skate, and Dylan Holloway converted a centering pass from Jordan Kyrou to put St. Louis back on top.
Just when it appeared the game was over, Pettersson found Boeser alone on the right wing boards in the St. Louis zone and the winger stepped up and ripped home a slapper shortside to tie the game with four seconds remaining.
Fitting for this one, the teams skated into overtime.
After Petey coughed up a puck in the offensive zone in the final two minutes, the Blues took advantage of the turnover. They skated up ice, created an odd-man rush, with Philip Broberg converting a backhand deke.
With the win the Blues moved to 77 points, good for the 2nd wild card spot out west. The Canucks are next with 76, followed by the Flames at 75 points. Vancouver has a game-in-hand on St. Louis, while Calgary has a game-in-hand on the Canucks and two on the Flames.
