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 Beleskey, set up by defenseman Sami Vatanen after a Blues
giveaway, scored the deciding goal Friday night at 10:55 of the
third period, giving the Ducks a 4-3 victory, and sending St. Louis
to its ninth Honda Center loss in a row.
"When you get a few early you get confidence, you get opportunity,"
Beleskey said after his Ducks-leading 16th goal, and fifth
game-winner of the season. "Playing with (center Ryan) Kesler on the
second line every night means you get chances, you've just got to
put them in the net."
Beleskey converted this one against Blues goalie Martin Brodeur, the
NHL's all-time leader in in games, wins and shutouts.
Vatanen quickly fed Beleskey the puck in transition, and he took it
with speed through the right-wing circle, stick-handled adeptly and
then beat Brodeur on his stick side to break a 3-3 tie. Ducks goalie
Frederik Andersen's 39 saves made it stand up, improving the Ducks
to 25-9-6.
"I tried glove side on him (Brodeur) a couple times tonight and he
stopped me," Beleskey said. "I had scored against him once before on
the blocker side, so I tried it again."
Beleskey's season high in goals coming in was 11, in 2009-10. He had
a second-period assist for his 100th NHL point.
"It was a lot of mistakes, too bad we didn't win, but they're fun
games to be part of," said Brodeur, who made 29 saves -- including a
breakaway by Kesler, and a handful of point-blank tries. "I thought
we had a great effort and we scored three goals, but I think on the
defensive side of the puck, we made a few mistakes that they
capitalized on.
"They're a good hockey team. You just can't give up anything for
free, and we did today."
The Blues fell to 22-13-3, including 0-4-1 in their past five road
games. They haven't won in Anaheim since Jan. 7, 2010.
St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said he was disappointed in the way
his team let the momentum shift in this one.
"We played hard," he said, "but we took some penalties at wrong
times in the offensive zone, and allowed them to get the momentum
back.
"It was disappointing, because we really had it in the second
period."
St. Louis got even three times in a second-period flurry that saw
the Blues score three goals and the Ducks two, in a span of 13
minutes, 28 seconds.
Blues right winger T.J. Oshie got it started with his seventh goal
at 2:59 of the second, set up beautifully by left winger Alexander
Steen's back-handed pass for a 1-1 tie.
Anaheim retook the lead when Kesler, knocked to his knees above the
left circle and with his back to the goal, still put a pass in the
crease that was redirected in by right winger Kyle Palmieri for his
sixth goal, at 5:20 of the middle period.
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The Blues got even again at 6:23 of the second, when center Paul
Stastny fed defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk for his sixth goal.
But the Ducks regained the lead at 3-2 at 10:11, when left winger
Andrew Cogliano scored his fifth goal off a feed from center Nate
Thompson from behind the goal.
St. Louis again equalized on Steen's shot from the right circle with
Anaheim at a 5-on-3 disadvantage. The power-play goal was Steen's
ninth.
Center Ryan Getzlaf gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 6:29 of the first
period, pouncing on the rebound of a point shot by defenseman Sami
Vatanen, and slipping it past Brodeur for a power-play goal. It came
with St. Louis left winger Jori Lehtera off for interference, and
Getzlaf's 13th goal snapped an 0-for-19 Anaheim drought with the
advantage.
"We find a way to win." Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said.
"Sometimes it doesn't look like we deserve it, but we find a way to
win.
"Other than the power play and penalties, I thought the chances were
pretty even. It was a pretty up-and-down game."
NOTES: Ducks C Ryan Getzlaf was selected NHL's "First Star" for
December. Getzlaf led the NHL in scoring with five goals and 15
assists in the month. Getzlaf's 20 points were the most by a Ducks
player in a month since March 2011, when the he also had 20. ...
Anaheim assigned LW Emerson Etem to Norfolk (AHL). ... RW Kyle
Palmieri (shoulder) moved back into the Anaheim lineup after a
six-game absence. ... Blues C Paul Statsny got new linemates against
the Ducks: Jori Lehtera and 22-goal-scorer Vladimir Tarasenko.
Lehtera moved from right wing to left wing, where he's played
internationally for Finland. ... St. Louis D Carl Gunnarson returned
to the lineup after missing 10 games because of a Dec. 6 upper-body
injury. ... C Colin Fraser, just recalled from the Chicago Wolves
(AHL), made his Blues debut. Fraser, 29, came in with 358 games of
NHL experience with the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers and Los
Angeles Kings. Fraser won two Stanley Cups with the Kings and one
with the Blackhawks.
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