In what could be the St. Louis Blues' last game for a while, they replayed the game that was interrupted when Jay Bouwmeester collapsed and beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Wednesday night in Anaheim, Calif.
The NBA suspended play Wednesday after a player was diagnosed with coronavirus. The NHL didn't act on Wednesday night, but likely will on Thursday.
The game was a weird one for the Blues already, as the last time the Blues played at Honda Center, their teammate Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac episode on the bench and nearly died.
Alex Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester's longtime defense partner, scored two goals, one that put the Blues up 2-1 and then an empty-net goal to seal it. Zach Sanford also scored for the Blues, breaking a 2-2 tie in the second.
Jake Allen stopped 26 of 27 shots to get the win.
The other goal was scored by Ivan Barbashev a month ago. The goals and assists were the only stats that carried over from the first game.
Shortly before the game began, the NBA announced it was suspending its season after Utah's Rudy Gobert had tested positive for the coronavirus. The NHL soon announced:
"The National Hockey League is aware of the NBA's decision tonight to indefinitely suspend its season due to a player testing positive for the coronavirus. The NHL is continuing to consult with medical experts and is evaluating the options. We expect to have a further update tomorrow."
Said the NHL Players Association: "We are in continuous contact with the NHL regarding the coronavirus and the recent announcement by the NBA. These discussions will continue tomorrow morning, and we will consult with players before commenting further."
The Blues will fly home Thursday and are supposed to play again Friday at Enterprise Center, but that game and the games to follow, are now in doubt. Increasingly, events that are being played, like NCAA basketball games, are being played in front of empty arenas. And with the NBA suspending play, the NHL, which shares may buildings with the NBA, seems likely to follow suit.
Anaheim tied the game with 6:32 to go in the second by Jani Hakanpaa that it looked like Jake Allen had stopped but that trickled through under his arm.
Sanford put the Blues back ahead with 2:47 to go on a very long delayed penalty. Anaheim got sticks on the puck twice, but not enough for the refs to blow the play dead and eventually, Sanford scored his 16th goal, backhanding in a rebound about 40 seconds after the penalty had been signaled.
Pietrangelo's goal, his 15th of the season, came on the team's second power play and was a rare goal by the team's first power play unit, as he shot in from just inside the blueline and put it in off the post. It's his 11th goal on the road this season, the most in the NHL. It's the fourth goal in a row by a Blues defenseman, tied for the league lead in defenseman goals with 44.
Allen made some good saves on an early Anaheim power play to keep the Ducks off the board. After a slow start, the Blues outplayed the Ducks for most of the period and outshot them 16-9.
