In St Louis Thursday, the Blues won their sixth straight game and are now 7-1-0 under new head coach Mike Yeo.
Thursday saw the Blues defeat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3, on the strength of two
Alexander Steen had a goal in BLues win Thursday – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
power play goals in the third period from Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen.
“We came out in the game and we were a little sloppy, to be honest, in the first and second,” said Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who had three assists. “Once we got back in between the second and third, we really just told ourselves we needed to create momentum more than anything. That’s important when you’re starting a period on the power play.”
Jake Allen made 18 saves to get the win.
“We were tired. There’s no question. A long road trip. We’ve been battling hard, we’ve been finding ways to win games,” Allen said of the effort in front of him from a tired roster.
Magnus Paajarvi and Jori Lehtera also potted goals for St Louis who improved to 31-22-5.
“I think, as coaches, we were a little bit nervous about this game coming back off a five-game road trip,” Yeo said. “It’s always a challenge in itself, but then you’re faced with the fact that you played the night before, with travel, and you’re playing against a team that’s sitting here waiting for you.
“We were expecting a playoff game from them, a playoff mentality. They’re fighting for their lives right now. We knew it was going to be a challenge with that. … What really impressed me was our response in the third period.”
Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves in taking the loss for the Canucks.
“The players on this team played an unreal road game and I was awful,” Markstrom said. “Bad luck or good luck or whatever, it just can’t happen. We can’t afford that right now. We played a great game, scored three goals, and coming into the third … two quick goals like that, that can’t happen. It was awful today.”
WATCH: All Canucks vs. Blues highlights
Vancouver got goals from Bo Horvat, Henrik Sedin and Brandon Sutter.
“I thought that was a tough game for St Louis coming back. I thought they battled hard. I thought they capitalized on their chances. That four-minute power play made a difference. Outside of that, I liked our chance [to win],” Vancouver head coach Willie Desjardins said after the loss.
You must be logged in to post a comment.