ST. LOUIS — You knew sooner or later, the Blues would snap out of it. But after a series of pratfalls against the lesser lights of the NHL, who could have predicted it would come against the talented and touted New York Rangers?
Well, that’s what happened Thursday at Enterprise Center, on Grateful Dead night no less. With Pavel Buchnevich and Oskar Sundqvist out with injuries, and Logan Brown and Marco Scandella returning to the lineup after long absences, the Blues kept on truckin’ in their quest for a playoff berth.
Given the fact that they were winless in their previous four games (0-3-1), matching their longest losing streak of the season, perhaps it’s more accurate to say the Blues resumed truckin’ with a 6-2 victory.
The Blues improved to 33-17-7, avenging a 5-3 loss on March 2 to the Rangers in Madison Square Garden that started them on their recent downward spiral.
After allowing the first goal in five of their six previous games, the Blues hit the Rangers with a 3-spot in the opening period. Goal No. 1 came from Robert Thomas on a sequence started when Colton Parayko rushed the puck up the ice. He passed back to Thomas in the slot, who went down low to Jordan Kyrou, who passed to Thomas on the opposite side of the crease for a tap-in.
Tic-tac-toe, and with 6:55 left in the opening period the Blues had their first lead since the end of the second period in the Garden, the last time the teams played. Just 45 seconds later is was 2-0 when Brandon Saad fed Ivan Barbashev in the slot from behind the net. It was Barbashev’s 18th goal of the season.
Less than two minutes later it was 3-0 Blues when Thomas scored from the slot, with Kyrou getting the primary assist once again. Thomas’ 10th goal of the season matched his career high, set during the 2019-20 season, and made him the ninth Blues player with 10 or more goals this season
The flurry of three goals came in 2 minutes, 36 seconds. Keep in mind, the Blues scored three goals in a 2:14 span in the second period last week in New York, and ended up losing that game 5-3. As if to remind the Blues that there was still work to do, the Rangers got on the board with 1:13 left in the first on a power play goal by Ryan Strome. Strome scored an even-strength goal against the Blues last week.
For the Blues’ penalty kill unit, it was their fifth power play goal allowed in five games.
The game easily could’ve been tied 3-3 after one were it not for a couple of stellar saves by Ville Husso. Husso made one of the saves of the season, when he somehow got his right leg out to stop a shot by Dryden Hunt with 8:41 left in the first on a 2-on-1 break. Later in the period, Artemi Panarin had an instant breakaway in the near slot, but Husso said “no” to the “Bread Man.”
By game's end, Husso had stopped 27 of 29 shots by the Rangers (36-17-5) and improved his record to 14-5-2 this season.
Just to make sure the Rangers had no comeback ideas, the Blues struck for three goals In the opening 7:45 of the second period to take a 6-1 lead.
On the opening shift of the period, David Perron won a wall battle (and with some help from Brayden Schenn) the result was a goal by Ryan O’Reilly. Perron and O’Reilly outworking the opposition for a goal. We’ve seen that a few times over the years. And that was it for Rangers goaler Igor Shesterkin. The NHL leader in goals-against average (1.93) and save percentage (.942) entering Thursday, Shesterkin was pulled after that goal.
Enter backup Alexandar Georgiev. The Blues greeted him with goals by Jake Walman — his third — and Perron — his 14th. Walman’s goal came from the right circle on a long, long delayed penalty. The Blues controlled the puck for 1:02 after the penalty was called but before a stoppage in play. Then came Walman’s goal at the 7:07 mark. Walman wasn’t even scheduled to play, but Tyler Bozak — who took part in the morning skate — was a late scratch due to what the Blues termed a non-COVID-19 illness.
With Buchnevich and Sundqvist already out with injuries, the Blues had no spare forwards. So Walman dressed as a seventh defenseman. It marked the 11th time this season the Blues played a game with fewer than 12 forwards. The first 10 game from Nov. 26 through Dec. 29 a period in which the Blues were hit with a crush of injuries and COVID. The Blues are now 6-2-3 in those games.
The crowd was still buzzing about the Walman goal when Perron struck to make it a 6-1 game. It was his fifth goal in five games.
The Rangers scored another power-play goal before the period ended, by K’Andre Miller, with the Blues getting a little loose overall on defense. But Husso was up to the challenge.
With Scandella returning from a lower-body injury for the first time since Feb. 10 against New Jersey, the first game after the All-Star break, Nikko Mikkola was dropped down to the third pairing with Robert Bortuzzo. Mikkola was feisty Thursday, making quick work of Hunt in a fight, and even mixing it up with Ryan Reaves in a net-front scuffle.
