Preview: The St. Louis Blues (24-25-5) face the reigning Stanley Cup Champions the Florida Panthers, six points out of a playoff spot. The Florida Panthers (32-20-3) are on track to defend the Cup playing at the top of their game…they hold first place in the Atlantic Division.
Ryan Suter plays his 1,499th career game, which ties him with Mike Modano for 22nd in NHL history. Suter joins Philip Broberg on the second pairing, while Nick Leddy and Justin Faulk are re-united on the third. Joel Hofer is in the net and Spencer Knight opposes him. The scratches are Tyler Tucker, Alexandre Texier, and today’s call-up Mackenzie MacEachern. The Panthers are a physical team leading the league in hits with 1575…Blues are 5th with 1305.
Blues get the early lead only to have the Panthers score two unanswered goals in period 1…
The Blues have not scored more than two goals in six straight games…need to change that trend.
Off the initial face-off, Jake Neighbours, at center…not Brayden Schenn…drops the gloves with Sam Bennett…a carryover from the prior game in Florida when Bennett took Jake into the boards. A head hit that the refs missed. Five-minute majors and Jake heads to the locker room with a cut on his forehead from when his head hit the ice.
Zach Bolduc with a backhander gives the Blues a 1-0 lead as he battled in front of the net and takes a rebound of a Suter shot from the point to get his 6th at 3:31. Alexey Toropchenko with the secondary assist. The Blues 3rd shot of the game…good start! Bolduc's first goal in 24 games.
At the 7:09 mark, the game is tied after the Panthers were buzzing in the Blues end, and they get one behind Hofer as a puck bounces off a player's ankle and in. 1-1.
At 10 minutes in, the Panthers have 10 shots on goal to the Blues four shots.
Pavel Buchnevich takes a holding penalty with 3:30 left in the period. The Panthers are 6th in the league on the power play, and they quickly scored to make it 2-1 at 3:06. The St Louisan Matthew Tkachuk deflects a shot from the point past Hofer…who had no chance. It was the Panthers 13th shot of the period.
The period ends 2-1, in Florida's favor, with them leading in shots 16 to 10.
Blues tie it up in 2nd period
Blues go to the power play with 15:14 left in the period, and they score at 14:42. Moving the puck well in the Panther end…Robert Thomas fires the puck towards the net, and Oskar Sundqvist deflects it past the goaltender. We are tied at two as Sundqvist gets his 4th goal of the year and first in 17 games. Cam Fowler, with the secondary assist
At the halfway point of the game, Florida had 20 shots, and the Blues had 15. The game is tied at 2.
Blues go back on the power play with 5:53 left in the period. Buchnevich draws his 2nd penalty of the game. The Blues had three shots on the PP…no goals…one for two with the man advantage.
The Blues had two breakaways during the period…Bolduc and Holloway. They were unable to score, so we remain tied at 2. Shots 26 to 19 in favor of Florida.
Heartbreak with 12 seconds left...
The Blues need to continue to play aggressively in the 3rd period…they are 3-1-2 this season when tied after 2 periods.
Hofer makes a sprawling…sliding…glove save on a breakaway with 13:24 left…WOW!
5 MINUTES!!! Shots are 32 to 21 in favor of Florida. Hofer is playing well with 30 saves so far…keeping the game tied at 2.
12 seconds left…Florida scores, beating Hofer after the first shot deflects off two Blues defensemen and back to the slot for a fluttering shot…an unlucky bounce, and Tkachuk tips the puck between Hofer's arm and his body!! The game ended 3-2 Panthers…shots finished 34 to 22 for Florida. Heartbreak.