Kasperi Kapanen boosts Blues to victory over Bruins

[March 12, 2024]  Kasperi Kapanen matched his career high with three points, collecting a goal and two assists while leading the St. Louis Blues to a 5-1 road win over the Boston Bruins on Monday night.
 
St. Louis, which is 26-3-1 when scoring first, snapped a three-game skid and broke the three-goal mark for the first time in nine games. 

Mar 11, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer (30) and defenseman Scott Perunovich (48) react after defeating the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Saad and Kevin Hayes each added a goal and an assist while Robert Thomas and Alexey Toropchenko also scored for the Blues, who led 2-0 and 4-0 at the intermissions.

St. Louis goalie Joel Hofer made 36 saves.

Boston had a four-game point streak (3-0-1) ended despite David Pastrnak's 41st goal of the season and 17 saves by Jeremy Swayman.

St. Louis scored the opening goal at 10:13 of the first period. Torey Krug's attempt to wrap the puck around the boards took an awkward bounce into the slot, where Kapanen was open to bury the point-blank shot.

A 58-second five-on-three helped the Blues double their lead with 2:01 left in the opening period, as Pavel Buchnevich set up Thomas for a one-time blast from the right circle.

Hofer was steady in goal as Boston had a 12-10 shooting advantage in the opening frame. His toe stop in the final minute ensured the two-goal lead would last through 20 minutes.

Though the home team dominated possession early in the middle frame, a three-on-two rush the other way resulted in St. Louis adding to its lead at 4:31. Kapanen charged up the right wing and dished to Hayes, who slipped the goal five-hole on Swayman from the slot.

Justin Brazeau appeared to put Boston on the board with a floating shot over Hofer's shoulder at 11:11, but St. Louis' successful challenge for offside washed the goal away.

As a result, Saad made it a 4-0 game when he collected the carom of Hayes' shot off the right post and slipped it home at the 15:25 mark. An assist on the play capped Kapanen's sixth career three-point game.

Boston's goalless night ended when Pastrnak ripped a one-timer from the top of the circles just 1:48 into the third.

Toropchenko scored an empty-net goal from the Blues' own zone with 8:33 left.

--Field Level Media

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