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 A little extra rest seemed to boost the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.
Playing for the first time after an extended break, the Blues were
full of energy and devoid of rust, building an early lead and
beating the Minnesota Wild 4-2.
Jori Lehtera, Ryan Reaves, Patrik Berglund and Robby Fabbri scored
goals and goalie Jake Allen had 30 saves, as the Blues won their
third in a row and kept pace with the Chicago Blackhawks in the race
for the Central Division crown. The Blues (38-20-9) currently trail
Chicago by two points, and host the Blackhawks on Wednesday.
"Jake was good when we needed him, and we're going to need that
going forward," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Anytime you get
points right now it's good. Everybody's looking at what the number
is to get in. We've kind of got an idea on what it is, I'm sure
(Minnesota) does too, so anytime you can pick up points at this time
of year is good."
For Minnesota, which was playing for the ninth time in 15 days,
defensemen Matt Dumba and Ryan Suter scored as they staged a late
rally but could not get the equalizer. Devan Dubnyk, who had
backstopped a shootout win on Saturday, started in goal but was
yanked near the midway point of the game after the Blues' third
goal. Darcy Kuemper finished the game for Minnesota (31-26-10) with
18 saves. The loss snapped a four-game win streak by the Wild, who
are currently in the eighth and final Western Conference playoff
spot, two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche.
"It was fun for me," said Allen, making his sixth start since
returning from and injury that had him sidelined much of January and
February. "We let our foot off the gas a little bit but you knew
they were going to come with a push so you have to give them some
credit. We got the win, a big two points, especially after a long
layoff, it's sort of tough to come back into those games, but we did
a great job."
St. Louis dominated the early goings, grabbing the lead less than
eight minutes in.
Coming off the Blues' bench and heading for the offensive zone,
Lehtera intercepted an errant pass by Wild defenseman Mike Reilly,
then blasted a low shot that beat Dubnyk between the knees.
The Blues lead doubled less than two minutes later on a
controversial play.
Kyle Brodziak entered the offensive zone, skating backward with his
skates crossing the blue line before the puck. He then passed to
Reaves, whose long range-shot slipped under Dubnyk's glove.
Wild interim coach John Torchetti challenged the play, claiming
Brodziak was offside, but after a review, it was ruled a good goal.
A written statement from the NHL noted that the linesman ruled
Brodziak maintained control of the puck while crossing the blue
line, making it a legal play. It was just the third goal of the
season for Reaves.
"This is the play that they brought the coaches challenge in for,
this exact play," Dubnyk said. "It's so offside that both our
defensemen stopped playing and all of a sudden they have twice as
much room as they would because both our guys stopped playing. You
have guys on the other bench that are laughing after the goal is
called, and I mean, it's just added to the list of interesting calls
on challenges for everywhere around the league this year."
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The Blues took a commanding lead midway through the game.
Dubnyk knocked down a hard shot by Blues captain David Backes, but
produced a sizable rebound. Berglund grabbed the puck in the left
circle and fired a wrist shot under Dubnyk's right armpit.
That was all for Dubnyk, who was lifted after making 13 saves on 16
shots. The Blues peppered Kuemper with 10 shots in the final nine
minutes of the period but didn't add to their lead.
"I liked how they responded being down 3-0," Torchetti said. "You
learn from losses, that's for sure, but you certainly learned about
our character. Our fans knew that we really worked hard down the
end, and we were disappointed we were down 3-0 for them, and we did
a good job coming back."
Suter finally ended Allen's shutout bid more than 11 minutes into
the final period, popping a backhand shot beyond the goalie's glove
hand. And Dumba pulled Minnesota within one a few minutes later,
swiping a cross-ice pass from Charlie Coyle past Allen. The Wild had
a few cracks at Allen with their goalie pulled before Fabbri's
empty-net goal sealed the St. Louis win.
NOTES: Wild RW Jason Pominville skated in his 231st consecutive game
for Minnesota on Sunday, tying him for second among franchise
ironmen with C Kyle Brodziak, who now plays for the Blues. Retired F
Antti Laaksonen holds the team record with 283 straight games. ...
St. Louis RW Ryan Reaves missed one practice last week to attend the
birth of his son, Kanen John, but made the trip to Minnesota. ...
Prior to the game, the Wild honored Blaine High School F Riley
Tufte, who was named Minnesota's Mr. Hockey on Sunday. Tufte, who
will play college hockey at Minnesota Duluth, is projected to be a
first-round pick in the 2016 draft. ... St. Louis C Jori Lehtera
returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing the previous three
games. He was struck in the face with a puck during the Blues' 2-1
home loss to the New York Rangers on Feb. 25.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
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