ANAHEIM, Calif.—The Anaheim Ducks erased a two-goal, third-period deficit Sunday night, April 7, at Honda Center, only to fall to the St. Louis Blues 6–5 in a shootout.
Thanks to a shootout conversion from Jordan Kyrou, the Blues preserved their slim Stanley Cup playoff hopes.
Robert Thomas had a goal and three assists, and Zack Bolduc, Matthew Kessel, Pavel Buchnevich, and Brayden Schenn also scored to help St. Louis bounce back from a disastrous 3–2, overtime loss Saturday at San Jose. Goaltender Jordan Binnington finished with 33 saves, and Kyrou had three assists.
“You just got to go compete every shift, and everyone still wants to win, so that’s great we got it done in the shootout,” said Kessel, who scored his first career goal in his 37th NHL game. “We definitely wish we were in a better spot, but I think we’re just looking to compete every game and just keep on winning.”
Having come into the game with an already narrow path to reach the postseason, likely needing to win its final five games and have either Nashville or Vegas go on a major regulation losing streak, St. Louis escaped with two points despite giving up the two-goal lead.
In the tiebreaker, Kyrou converted on the Blues’ first attempt, and Binnington saved tries by Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry after a Trevor Zegras bid hit a goal post.
“We’re not mailing it in,” Thomas said. “We’re playing for pride, and obviously there’s still a little chance, so we’re just doing our best to try to win every game.”
Carlsson and Frank Vatrano each had two goals, and Nikita Nesterenko also scored in the Ducks’ 14th loss in 16 games. Alex Killorn had an assist for his 500th career point, and goalie Lukas Dostal made 26 saves.
“We have some really talented players,” Anaheim Coach Greg Cronin said. “Leo’s obviously very talented, I thought he was very good offensively. For most of the game, we were able to play four lines and have consistent pressure.”
Buchnevich gave the Blues a 4–2 lead early in the second period on a one-timer from the right circle for his 27th goal of the season. Carlsson cut it to 4–3 at 1:02 of the third period, but Schenn scored his own power-play goal to restore the two-goal advantage at 2:40.
Vatrano scored his second of the night at 8:04, and Carlsson tied it with 3:51 remaining.
“We don’t want to give up that lead in the third, but we found a way to get the job done,” Binnington said. “Good response. We got young guys in there right now and guys playing different situations, and it’s good to see guys in opportunities just doing their best and finding a way.”
St. Louis managed to overcome not having forward Jake Neighbours and defenseman Justin Faulk available after both were injured against the Sharks. Neighbours sustained an upper-body injury on a hit from San Jose’s Luke Kunin in the second period. Faulk then fought Kunin and was hurt during the scrap.
Up Next
Blues: Host Chicago on Wednesday night.Ducks: Host Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
