ST. LOUIS — With the way the last few weeks have gone for the Blues, it was probably fitting that their penalty kill was pounded in the final home game of the season.
During a 5-2 loss to the Stars on Wednesday night, the Blues gave up three power-play goals, the eighth time in the last nine games that St. Louis has allowed at least one power-play goal to the opposition. Dating back to the March 26 loss in Los Angeles, the Blues' penalty kill is 14 for 31, killing penalties at a dreadful 45.2% rate.
The loss meant the Blues finished the season with an 18-17-6 record at home, with the regular-season finale on Thursday in Dallas.
Jakub Vrana and Robert Thomas scored for the Blues, as Joel Hofer made 32 saves.
Wyatt Johnston (twice), Joe Pavelski, Roope Hintz and Tyler Seguin scored for the Stars, who moved into first place in their Central Division race with the Avalanche.
After a back-and-forth first period ended with a 2-2 tie, the Blues’ game went off the rails with a parade to the penalty box.
Kasperi Kapanen was called for hooking, though the Blues killed the penalty. Sammy Blais’ errant stick to Colin Miller’s face resulted in a double-minor that the Stars scored twice on. First, Hintz was untouched in the slot to finish Jamie Benn’s pass from behind the net with 14 seconds remaining on Blais’ first penalty. Next, Johnston scored from about the same spot to push the Stars lead to 4-2.
When Kapanen was later called for slashing Miller and breaking his stick, that’s when Seguin joined the scoring party. Miro Heiskanen’s shot attempt deflected wide of the net and a big rebound off the end boards found Seguin at the side of the net. He dunked it to give Dallas a three-goal lead.
After an 11-week stretch in which the Blues’ penalty kill was solid (82.4%), all the progress made in a disappointing season was lost in the last two weeks. The Blues allowed four power-play goals to the Kings on March 25, kicking off a stretch multiple power-play goals in a season-high four straight games.
The Blues have lost a host of penalty-killing personnel recently, but no amount of losses should dip a team below 50%. Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari and Niko Mikkola were traded away, while Robert Bortuzzo and Marco Scandella are injured.
On the season, the Blues penalty kill is now at 72.1%.
Up and down first
The special teams snafu in the second period overshadowed an entertaining first period in which the Blues twice erased a one-goal Stars lead.
Following Johnston’s first goal of the evening, Vrana answered on the power play, finishing a cross-ice feed from Robert Thomas on the backdoor. The goal snapped a five-game goal drought for Vrana, who now has 10 goals since the Blues acquired him at the trade deadline from Detroit.
Pavelski scored as the extra attacker on a delayed penalty with 56 seconds remaining in the first period, ripping a one-timer from the blue line past Hofer. But 36 seconds later, Thomas responded.
Thomas dangled around Ty Dellandrea and roofed a shot over Scott Wedgewood to level the score at 2. It was Thomas’ 18th goal of the season and his 18th multi-point game of the season.
Because of Thomas’ goal, the Blues entered first intermission tied at 2 despite being outshot 14-6 in the frame.
Lottery update
With the regulation loss on Wednesday night, the Blues can still finish the regular season with lottery odds from No. 8 to No. 11. They entered the night with the 11th-worst record in the league, and remained there since they have more regulation wins (28) than Vancouver (27) despite the two teams each having 81 points in 81 games.
The Blues can increase their lottery odds on the final day of the regular season by dropping past Washington (79 points in 81 games, 27 regulation wins), Detroit (80 points in 81 games, 28 RW) or Vancouver (81 points in 81 games, 24 RW).
A win in Dallas on Thursday would secure the No. 11 spot in the lottery for the Blues. If St. Louis lost in regulation, Washington won in regulation, and Detroit and Vancouver both gained at least one point, the Blues would finish in the eighth spot.
The 11th spot has a 3% chance of winning the first pick and a 3.3% chance of landing the second pick. In eighth, it’s 6% for No. 1 and 6.4% for No. 2. In ninth, it’s 5% and 5.4% and in 10th, it’s 3.5% and 3.8%.
St. Louis cannot catch up to Columbus, Chicago, Anaheim, San Jose, Montreal, Arizona or Philadelphia at the bottom of the standings. It also cannot reach Ottawa above them.
The Blues have three first-round picks in the upcoming draft: their own, Toronto’s as part of the O’Reilly trade, and the lower of Dallas’ and the Rangers’ as part of the Vladimir Tarasenko trade.
The draft lottery is May 8.
