O'Reilly's hat trick sends Blues past Canes

[November 07, 2018]  Ryan O'Reilly's first career hat trick led the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 win over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

O'Reilly scored twice in the first period, netting the game's first goal after a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko at the 11:57 mark. The center then struck again on a late power play, firing a Tarasenko pass from behind the net into the Hurricanes' goal with just five seconds remaining in the period.

An empty-net goal at 16:50 of the third period capped off the night for O'Reilly, giving him his first hat trick after 664 career NHL games.

After being traded from the Sabres to the Blues in the offseason, O'Reilly's tenure in St. Louis began somewhat slowly, as he didn't score until the seventh game of the season. Now, O'Reilly has seven goals and eight assists over his last eight games, with the eight-game point streak matching his previous career best.

Tarasenko and Tyler Bozak each had two assists in the game, all coming on helpers for O'Reilly.

Playing his third game after an absence of nearly 21 months from NHL action, Blues center Robby Fabbri scored at 14:01 of the first period to notch his first goal since Dec. 28, 2016. Fabbri put the final touch on a quality series of passes from the Blues, who quickly took the puck back the other way after Carolina rookie Andrei Svechnikov's shot hit the post.

Jaccob Slavin accounted for Carolina's only goal, a power-play effort on a slapshot from beyond the circle at 19:34 of the first period. The goal was Slavin's first of the year and ended a 24-game goalless drought dating back to last season.

Blues center Ryan O'Reilly (90) celebrates after scoring an empty net goal for his first career hat trick during the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Hurricanes scored just the one goal despite a hefty 39-20 edge in shots, with Jordan Staal and Lucas Wallmark each contributing five shots apiece. Carolina also came close on four more occasions that saw the puck bank off the post, with Sebastian Aho twice putting scoring chances off the ironwork.

Blues backup goalie Chad Johnson delivered a strong performance in his second start of the year, recording 38 saves to keep Carolina's offense at bay.

--Field Level Media

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