Blues' OT victory ends Sharks' 8-game win streak

[March 28, 2018]  Vladimir Tarasenko scored his second goal of the night in overtime and goalie Jake Allen made 22 saves as the St. Louis Blues earned their sixth consecutive win, a 3-2 victory over the visiting San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.

Tarasenko was parked alone at the side of the net at 2:33 of overtime when Vladimir Sobotka made a terrific pass to him for an easy tally to the delight of the frenzied crowd at the Scottrade Center.

The Blues gained a critical two points in the battle for a Western Conference wild-card berth. They also snapped San Jose's eight-game winning streak a few nights after ending the 10-game winning spree of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The first two periods were almost mirror images. Twice San Jose took a lead and twice St. Louis pulled even.

The Sharks had the early edge in play and were rewarded when Evander Kane opened the scoring at 6:26. Kane was the trailer on a rush, took a drop pass, moved to the high slot and unloaded a wrist shot that Allen only got a piece of with his trapper. Kane has netted nine goals and 14 points in 14 games since being traded to the Sharks at the deadline.

Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist netted his first goal of the season at the 17:43 mark of the opening frame to tie the game. Sundqvist gained the puck at the top of the right circle, fired as he spun and sent a seeing-eye shot that beat screened Sharks goalie Aaron Dell.

 

 Blues center Ivan Barbashev (49) skates in for a shot against San Jose Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell (30) during the third period at Scottrade Center. The Blues won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

The visitors again took a lead when captain Joe Pavelski scored on the power play at 7:07 of the second period. Pavelski, at the front of the net, deflected a Brent Burns point shot for his 20th goal of the season.

However, Tarasenko made it a 2-2 game with a power-play goal at 12:03 of the middle frame. Tarasenko unloaded a shot from the left faceoff dot for his 30th goal of the season, a mark he has reached in four consecutive campaigns.

With his assist on the goal, Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo recorded his career-high 52nd point of the year.

Dell made 29 saves for the Sharks, who are on a 9-1-1 run and have a solid hold on second place in the Pacific Division.

--Field Level Media

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