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 Playing for the first time since Jan. 31, Sobotka scored a goal
and assisted on two more, including the winner by defenseman Alex
Pietrangelo, for his first three-point game of the season as the St.
Louis Blues beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 Thursday at Scottrade
Center.
Sobotka was back after missing 12 games with a broken kneecap.
"We knew he was going to bring energy, bring some bite back to our
lineup," Pietrangelo said. "That's a great example of what he's
capable of, three points, coming back after being out as long as he
was.
"Whether he felt his best or not, I don't know, but it certainly
looked like he didn't miss a beat."
Left winger Jaden Schwartz mentioned that to Sobotka during the
game.
"I told him that on the ice, and he didn't know what I meant,"
Schwartz said, with a laugh.
The first few shifts were a little tough, according to Sobotka, who
played on a line with left winger T.J. Oshie and right winger
Vladimir Tarasenko. The line accounted for the Blues' first three
goals.
"It probably took me two or three shifts; I just kept it simple and
tried to keep up with Vladie and Osh," Sobokta said. "The first
period was a little harder, but after (a few) shifts, I felt better
and better. ... I got a little stronger and faster."
The victory was the Blues' third against the Oilers this season. St.
Louis extended its unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1), all of
the games taking place in March.
St. Louis (45-14-7) leads the NHL with 97 points, four points clear
of three teams that are tied for second. The Oilers (23-36-8) lost
in regulation for only the third time in 10 games (5-3-2), but they
long ago fell out of the playoff hunt.
Like Sobotka, Oshie also had a goal and two assists. He leads the
Blues with 53 points, 17 goals and a career-high 36 assists.
Schwartz lit the red lamp twice, his 20th and 21st goals this
season, while fellow second-year player Tarasenko also scored his
20th. Tarasenko became the Blues' first Russian-born player to score
20 in a season.
Schwartz described scoring 20 as "cool," adding, "I didn't really
expect it to start the season."
Schwartz also used the same "cool" word in reference to he and
Tarasenko getting 20 on the same night. They were first-round draft
picks in 2010 — Schwartz 14th overall, Tarasenko 16th.
Former Blues left winger David Perron scored his career-high 25th
for Edmonton, which also got a goal from defenseman Mark Fraser.
The Blues scored three goals in the first 7:56 of the final period,
then added another to put the game away.
"That's the way we can play," Pietrangelo said.
Sobotka teamed with Pietrangelo for the eventual winner, giving the
Blues a 3-2 lead 40 seconds into the final period. Sobotka took the
puck away from defenseman Andrew Ference on the right of the net,
then fed Pietrangelo in the slot, and the defenseman beat Edmonton
goalie Ben Scrivens with the quick wrister.
"I saw the puck in the corner and stuck with it," Sobotka said,
adding that when he took it from Ference, "Petro called for the puck
and I just put it in front."
Pietrangelo waited to make the call and move to the net until
Sobotka had possession of the puck.
"I didn't want anyone to come in on me," Pietrangelo explained. "We
didn't have anyone between us, so it was a pretty easy pass for him.
I got a good bounce, so I'll take it."
Schwartz increased the lead to two at 4:25, scoring from the slot
after center David Backes won a race behind the net for a dump-in by
left winger Alexander Steen. Schwartz credited "DB" for that play.
Oshie then scored at 7:56 with the Blues on a five-on-three power
play. That pretty much was the game, but Schwartz set the final
score on the rebound of center Maxim Lapierre's shot at 12:56.
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Edmonton actually had a lead in this game, 1-0 after Perron's goal
7:39 into the first period. Left winger Taylor Hall fetched
Ference's dump-in in the right corner, circled up the boards and
passed to Perron in the high slot. Playing for the first time in St.
Louis since being traded to Edmonton for left winger Magnus Paajarvi
on July 13, Perron wristed the puck past goalie Ryan Miller, who is
now 5-0-1 in a Blues uniform.
Perron was happy to score a meaningful goal.
"It's not like it was 6-2 and doesn't mean anything," Perron said.
"When we scored, we thought we could have a good game against them.
They're a team set up to play with the lead. When they have the
lead, it's hard to get back on them."
The game remained close through two periods.
Sobotka tied the score 1-1 at 18:48 of the first, crashing the net
and putting a backhand past Scrivens. Tarasenko and Oshie assisted.
The trio combined for the Blues' second goal, 5:05 into the second
period. After taking a pass from Sobotka, Oshie carried the puck
into the Oilers zone, dipsy-doodled and fed Tarasenko breaking to
the net for a 2-1 lead.
Edmonton tied the score in a weird exchange at 18:03. Blues
defenseman Barret Jackman was face down after getting accidentally
kicked on the back of the head as Oilers left winger Jesse Joensuu
jumped over him. With play continuing and Jackman still down, Fraser
ultimately tied the score.
That goal inspired with the Blues.
"After seeing that goal, it gave us a little extra fire there,"
Pietrangelo said.
After the second intermission, the Blues scored four goals on 14
shots in the third period.
"They took it to us," Perron said.
Scrivens allowed the six goals on 37 shots as the Blues outshot the
Oilers 37-25.
"They're a good team; they don't need too many chances," Scrivens
said. "My job is to make more saves than I did tonight."
NOTES: With C/LW Vladimir Sobotka back in the St. Louis lineup, LW
Brenden Morrow was a healthy scratch. ... The Blues' other healthy
scratches were LW Chris Porter and D Carlo Colaiacovo, each for the
second successive game. ... Blues D Jordan Leopold sat out for the
ninth consecutive game with a high-ankle sprain. He has missed every
game since the Olympic break. ... Blues D Jay Bouwmeester appeared
in his 701st consecutive game, which is the longest active streak in
the major U.S. stick-and-ball sports (NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL) and second
in major U.S. professional sports behind Jeff Gordon of NASCAR. In
his 11th season as a professional, Bouwmeester has played all but 21
games in his career, missing those games with a broken foot in his
second season, 2003-04. ... The Oilers scratched C Anton Lander,
whom they called up on an emergency basis Wednesday from AHL
Oklahoma City. D Anton Belov missed his sixth consecutive game with
an oblique injury. Edmonton also scratched D Philip Larsen. ... The
Oilers have two games remaining on their four-game trip, Friday at
Detroit and Sunday at Carolina. ... The Blues play Saturday in
Nashville and return home to host Winnipeg on Monday.
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