Berglund's OT goal helps Blues ground Ducks

[January 16, 2017]  ANAHEIM, Calif. -- In winning two games within 24 hours against two of the Pacific Division's top teams, the St. Louis Blues might have rediscovered their identity.

Patrik Berglund scored his second goal 51 seconds into overtime to give the Blues a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174 at the Honda Center.

Goalie Carter Hutton stopped 22 shots in his second successive start for the Blues (23-16-5), who earned their second consecutive victory after losing three of four. Hutton made 23 saves Saturday night in a 4-0 shutout of the San Jose Sharks.

"These last two games, we've really been coming back to playing the hockey we've been playing for a couple of years," Berglund said. "We've been chasing the game around and we really haven't competed on the puck. Now, we're really competing. We work for each other. We're tracking back hard, helping out the (defense)."

Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk believes the two wins can serve as the season's turning point.

"We haven't been getting enough of that one extra bit of effort and detail when you need a calm, poised play," Shattenkirk said. "This has been our staple. Now, we see the difference of what we have been doing for the first half of the season. Hopefully, this is the spark for things to come."

Rickard Rakell scored for the Ducks (24-13-9), who missed a chance to get their fourth straight win, which would have been a season high. Goalie John Gibson made 23 saves.

"I thought we played a pretty good game," Rakell said. "We had a lot of chances, and it would've been nice to score a few more goals. Going forward, we can take with us and just stay confident."

Berglund won the game when he redirected Jaden Schwartz's pass from the right circle over Gibson's left shoulder for his 10th goal. As a result, the Blues ended a nine-game losing streak to the Ducks in Anaheim.

"He made a great play," Berglund said about Schwartz. "I think he made the right decision to leave the zone, regroup and get some speed going. I just went straight toward the net, and he made a great pass."

Rakell used his 18th goal to tie the score 5:11 into the third period by backhanding Ryan Getzlaf's slap shot from the left circle past two defenders and under the prone Hutton's left leg pad. Getzlaf tallied his team-leading 28th assist.

The Ducks had to survive the final 1:37 of regulation and the first 23 seconds of overtime short-handed because Rakell received a high-sticking penalty. But St. Louis failed to register a shot on goal.

Blues goalie Carter Hutton (40) makes a save in the third period of the game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. Blues won in overtime 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Blues took a 1-0 lead nearly 3 1/2 minutes after Anaheim had its best chance to score the first goal. The Ducks' Antoine Vermette passed from the right boards to free Nick Ritchie for a breakaway. But Hutton used his blocker to stop Ritchie's wrist shot from the slot 5:22 into the second period.

Berglund's ninth goal put the visitors ahead at 11:03 of the second period. After Robby Fabbri deflected David Perron's shot from the left boards, the puck skipped around the boards to Berglund, who took an off-balance shot while falling between Vermette and Ritchie. The puck ricocheted off Gibson's left leg pad and inside the right post.

"If we're skating, we can be effective," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "I didn't think that we were as effective as we should have been in the second period. I thought we let them dictate the play. Then we got re-set, re-focused and re-energized for the third period."

St. Louis had to defuse the Ducks' 4-minute power play after Kyle Brodziak received a pair of 2-minute penalties for elbowing and cross-checking with 5:12 left in the first period. But the Blues held the hosts to just two shots on goal.

NOTES: St. Louis scratched D Carl Gunnarsson, D Brad Hunt and RW Scottie Upshall. ... Blues C Patrik Berglund passed Hall of Famer Chris Pronger and moved into 11th place on the club's career list of games played with his 599th appearance. ... Anaheim scratched RW Stefan Noesen and D Shea Theodore. ... Ducks LW Andrew Cogliano played in his 750th consecutive game. Cogliano ranks fifth in NHL history in successive appearances. ... Ducks LW Rickard Rakell played in his 200th career game.

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