[March
05, 2014]ST. LOUIS — New St. Louis Blues
goalie Ryan Miller cannot tell a lie.
The 11-year veteran felt like a nervous rookie prior to his home
debut against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.
"My sports psychologist might be mad at me for saying it, but it was
not just another game," Miller said. "It was something special."
Miller, acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, made
15 saves to record his second win in as many starts for his new
team, and the Blues rallied from an early two-goal deficit to beat
the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2.
Left winger Alexander Steen broke a 2-2 tie with his team-high 29th
goal at 3:47 of the final period.
St. Louis (41-14-6) won its second in a row after losing the first
two games following the Olympic break.
Tampa Bay (34-23-5) lost for the seventh time in 10 games, and it
concluded a four-game road trip with a 1-3 mark.
Miller, a member of the United States Olympic team, stopped 23 shots
in a 4-2 victory at Phoenix on Sunday. Coincidentally, the Blues
fell behind 2-0 in that contest before scoring four unanswered
goals, just as they did against the Lightning.
Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop, who grew up in St. Louis, made 25
saves, but he fell to 29-11-4.
Center Patrik Berglund, right winger T.J. Oshie and right winger
Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for St. Louis, which improved to
23-5-2 at home.
Centers Alex Killorn and Tyler Johnson tallied for the Lightning,
who bolted to a 2-0 lead after just six shots on goal.
However, Miller bounced back with several fine saves, including two
highlight-reel stops in the third period.
"I'm excited to be here, and I want to go out there and show what I
could do," Miller said. "Hopefully I can continue to give them some
stuff to cheer about."
Miller received a standing ovation before the game when he was
announced as the starting goaltender.
St. Louis right winger and captain David Backes said Miller is
fitting in perfectly with his new teammates.
"His work ethic, his focus, his love for goaltending is out of this
world," Backes said. "He's always trying to improve his style."
Steen made Miller's home debut a memorable one by lifting a
backhander behind Bishop to cap off the comeback.
"We just stayed composed and kept playing," Steen said.
Oshie tied it 2-2 with a short-handed goal late in the second
period. It was his 15th of the season and only the third
short-handed goal for the Blues this season. Steen picked up his
200th career assist on the goal.
Berglund brought St. Louis to within 2-1 by scoring off the rebound
of a shot by left winger Jaden Schwartz early in the second period.
Berglund has 11 goals this season, including three in the past two
games.
Killorn and Johnson converted in a span of 7:41 in the first period
to put the Lightning in front. Killorn took a pass from right winger
Teddy Purcell in the slot at 7:08. Johnson then converted on the
power play for his 18th goal of the season. The tally broke his
season-high, seven-game scoreless drought.
"We scored two goals in the first (14) minutes and then we get just
11 shots the rest of the game," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.
"You're not going to win games like that."
Bishop, playing in front of numerous family and friends, stopped 12
first-period shots but was unable to protect the lead.
"It wasn't the best effort," Bishop said, "but I thought we played
pretty well at times."
Tarasenko scored into an empty net with 39 seconds left to nail down
the victory.
NOTES: Tampa Bay C Valtteri Filppula returned to the lineup after
missing four games with a non-displaced fracture of his right ankle.
... The Blues, who began the post-Olympic portion of their schedule
with three successive road games, played their first home game since
Feb. 8. ... The Lightning kick off a six-game homestand Thursday
against the Buffalo Sabres. ... G Ryan Miller, an 11-year veteran,
played in only one game in St. Louis prior to Tuesday. His Sabres
lost 4-2 on Jan. 21, 2012. ... Lightning C Alex Killorn played in
his 100th NHL game. ... Lightning C Steven Stamkos may return to the
lineup as soon as Thursday. Stamkos, who broke his right leg on Nov.
11, will undergo X-rays on Wednesday to determine his status. He has
missed 45 games.
