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 Early in the second period their captain, David Backes, was given
a game misconduct for boarding.
Still, the St. Louis Blues found a way to pull out a 4-3 win over
the Washington Capitals on Sunday to improve their points streak to
10-0-1.
"We didn't just hang on, we played really well," Blues head coach
Ken Hitchcock said. "There's wins and then there's really impressive
wins. This was a very impressive win."
Left winger Alexander Steen scored two goals and assisted right
winger Vladimir Tarasenko's game-winning goal 6:13 into the third
period to give the Blues their fifth straight victory. Right winger
Dmitrij Jaskin also scored for the Blues.
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of goals to become just
the fifth player in NHL history to record 30 or more goals in each
of his first 10 NHL seasons. Defenseman Karl Alzner also scored for
Washington, which lost for the second straight day and is now 1-4-2
in its last seven games.
 "That's the schedule," Ovechkin said. "You have to be ready for
everything. It doesn't matter who you play, you have to play hard
every game and you have to win."
St. Louis' ability to kill Backes' five-minute boarding penalty went
a long way in stretching their points streak to 11 games. The Blues
allowed the Capitals, ranked fourth in the NHL on the man-advantage,
just two shots on the extended power play.
"That was a turning point," said Blues goaltender Brian Ellliot, who
finished with 33 saves to improve to 15-5-2. "It told me we were
going to beat them and take the two points. Guys were pressuring and
working together and when a power play is doing that there's not
much the other team can do."
With the win, the Blues (32-13-4) stayed within two points of the
Nashville Predators (32-11-6), who sit atop the Central Division
standings. The Capitals (25-15-10) lost for the second straight time
and are now 1-4-2 in their last seven games.
The Blues took three leads in the game, only to see the Caps battle
back each time.
Steen and Ovechkin traded goals in the first two periods before
Jaskin gave the Blues their third lead with 4:03 remaining in the
second period.
When Tarasenko blasted a Steen pass though Washington backup
goaltender Justin Peters with 6:13 gone in the third period it
looked like the Blues were well on their way to a comfortable win.
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That's when Alzner made things interesting. His shot from the left
point made it through a three-man screen provided by Washington's
top line of Ovechkin, center Nicklas Backstrom and right winger Tom
Wilson to draw the Capitals within 4-3 with 7:32 remaining.
The Capitals pulled Peters for the extra attacker with 52 seconds
remaining in the game, but Elliott was outstanding down the stretch.
"I think you can look at any game and for the most part our
goaltender is going to be our most valuable player that game," Blues
center T.J. Oshie said. "On a night like tonight, when they are
bringing the heat, we need [Elliott] more than ever and he stepped
up and played great."
Ovechkin's power-play goal in the first period and his even-strength
goal in the second period gave him the NHL lead with 31. It also
moved him into elite company.
Ovechkin joined Wayne Gretzky, Jarri Kurri, Mike Bossy and Mike
Gartner as the only five players in NHL history to record 30 or more
goals in each of their first 10 NHL seasons.
"He's their bread and butter," Elliott said. "He's an elite shooter
in the league for a reason and he got a couple. But we got four so
it all worked out."
NOTES: The Blues concluded their annual fathers' trip, which began
with Friday night's game in Raleigh, N.C., and included a group
photo on the south lawn of the White House in Washington on
Saturday. ... The Blues are now 13-3-2 against Eastern Conference
teams, including 8-0-2 in their last 10. The Blues return home to
face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night before hitting the
road for games in Buffalo and Columbus. ... Washington plays three
of its next four at home, starting with Tuesday night's game against
the Los Angeles Kings.
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