ST. LOUIS — The Blues survived a disastrous 64 seconds in the second period to be even with Carolina going into the final five minutes on Thursday, but they couldn’t close the deal, giving up a goal with 4:35 to play that sent them to a 6-4 loss to the Hurricanes on Thursday at Enterprise Center.
Vladimir Tarasenko had the puck knocked loose from him as he skated through the neutral zone to spring Jordan Martinook going the other way and the Carolina forward got his second goal of the night, holding off a challenge from Nick Leddy while slipping the puck underneath Jordan Binnington’s pads. Carolina added an empty-net goal with 1:58 to play, the eighth time this season they’ve allowed an empty-net goal.
The Blues got their first sixth-attacker goal of the season with 41.4 seconds to play from Ryan O’Reilly but Martinook got an empty-net goal of his own with 8.4 seconds left for a hat trick, though no hats made it on to the ice.
The loss gives the Blues four in their past five games and only their miracle third-period comeback against Florida stands between the Blues and a five-game losing streak.
The Blues had two power-play goals for the first time this season, one by Pavel Buchnevich in the first period to get things started and the other by Torey Krug in the second period to get them even, sandwiched around a goal by Noel Acciari.
The Blues leave Friday for a three-game trip, starting in Pittsburgh before playing the two New York teams.
The big bang
Three goals in 64 seconds in the second period took the Blues from a two-goal lead to a one-goal deficit in a flash.
The first goal came with 15:47 to go in the second with Carolina on a power play after Brayden Schenn went off for hooking. Brent Burns skated the puck into the slot and fired a shot in past Binnington. Binnington was at the top of the crease, on or just above the line, at the time of the shot, and just before it Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov moved through the crease and made contact with both Binnington’s glove and helmet, moving both of them.
The Blues looked at the replay and considered a challenge, but ultimately decided not to, even though it looked like they would have a good case.
Had the Blues challenged and failed, it would have been a Carolina power play, but it turned out it didn’t matter. Twenty-one seconds later, Jordan Martinook picked up a loose puck and beat Binnington in the slot. How Martinook got the puck caused a bit of concern, as the Blues’ Noel Acciari had the puck at his feet when Brady Skjel got his stick between Acciari’s legs and tripped him, springing Martinook, but no penalty was called. Just like that, it was a tie game.
It was tied for 43 seconds. That’s how long it took for Martin Necas to take a shot that hit the stick of defenseman Colton Paryako and changed direction enough to get past Binnington.
Krug gets them even
Even before Carolina had swooped in to take the lead, the Blues hadn’t done much in the second period, and the sudden reversal of fortune did little to boost their energy. They had one power play that produced no shots on goal, but when they got another one with 5:29 to go in the second, they were able to tie the game.
Krug skated in from his blueline post and got the puck through Antii Raanta’s legs with 4:05 to go in the period. It was the fifth goal of the season for the defenseman.
The eyes of Thomas
Thomas didn’t wait very long to make his presence felt. The Blues got a power play when Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin sent a puck into the stands for a delay of game penalty. Twenty-seven seconds into the Blues power play, Thomas carried the puck into the Carolina zone and passed to Vladimir Tarasenko at the blueline.
Thomas kept skating and circled behind the net. When he came out the other side, Tarasenko gave him the puck back and Thomas skated along the boards toward the blueline. Near the top of the faceoff circle, Thomas stopped, circled, and threaded a pass between two Carolina defenders to Buchnevich, who was breaking to the far post. Thomas’ pass found Buchnevich for the easy redirection.
That gave Buchnevich seven goals this season, second on the team only to Jordan Kyrou. Four of his goals have been on the power play, Thomas has had the primary assist on four of Buchnevich’s seven goals overall.
Happy birthday, Noel
On his 31st birthday, forward Noel Acciari put the Blues ahead 2-0 2:31 into the second period.
A well-timed pass from Nick Leddy sprung Acciari between two defenders entering the Carolina zone. He stopped, cut to his right in front of Slavin and beat goalie Antii Raanta for his sixth goal of the season. That moved him into a tie for third in goals for the Blues.
