Blues' 3rd-period surge too much for Ducks

[March 18, 2024]  Robert Thomas scored twice and Pavel Buchnevich picked up three assists as the St. Louis Blues dispatched the visiting Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Sunday.
 
Jake Neighbours and Kevin Hayes also scored for the Blues, who extended their winning streak to four games.
 
Justin Faulk finished with two assists for St. Louis and Joel Hofer made 26 saves. 

Mar 17, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Kevin Hayes (12) reacts after scoring a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-USA TODAY Sports

Troy Terry scored twice and Lukas Dostal made 23 saves for the Ducks, who lost their sixth straight game.

The Ducks killed off three penalties during the first period. They took a 1-0 lead with 6:19 left in the period when Pavel Mintyukov shot from a sharp left-side angle and Terry converted the rebound.

Anaheim hadn't scored since the 1:51 mark of the second period of a 7-2 loss at Chicago on March 12. The Ducks lost their next two games 2-0 at the Minnesota Wild and 6-0 at the Winnipeg Jets.

Hofer kept the score at 1-0 by stopping Leo Carlsson coming down the middle on a Ducks power play in the second period.

St. Louis tied the score 1-1 with 5:04 left in the second period. Torey Krug fired a turnaround shot and Hayes jammed in the rebound at the left post.

Hofer turned away shots from Terry and Frank Vatrano during a goalmouth scramble in the closing seconds of the period.

The Blues seized control of the game by capitalizing on three consecutive power plays during the third period.

Thomas put the Blues up 2-1 at 1:53 of the third period by firing a shot from the high slot while Neighbours screened Dostal.

The Blues scored 4:19 later to make it 3-1. Brayden Schenn shot from the left circle and Neighbours deflected the shot past Dostal.

Thomas struck again with 10:27 left to play, stepping in through the right circle to score off Buchnevich's feed.

With Dostal off the ice for an extra attacker, Terry scored a six-on-five goal to cut the margin to 4-2.

--Field Level Media

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