In St Louis Tuesday night, Blues goalie Carter Hutton played Superman in extra time when he stopped the New Jersey Devils’ Marcus Johansson down low on a rebound off the right pipe.
The Devils’ Nico Hischier put a shot on the right goal post and it clanged off the iron to the right wing side where Johansson had an open net.
Hutton unfurled his cape and slapped his left pad out and kept the puck out of harm’s
Carter Hutton made 24 saves through OT including stellar stop in close to help Blues to 3-2 win in shootout – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
way to keep the score 2-2.
“Hischier made a pretty quick move right to his forehand off the post,” Hutton said. “I knew it went back and I wasn’t sure, and I reached behind me and I was able to kind of pick it up. I don’t know if I got my right skate in the back of the net and (I) just was able to get my left leg around, and luckily he didn’t roof it. I was able to get the pad on it.”
The Devils took to the ice to celebrate the win but the referee emphatically waved off the goal.
“I knew it was close … didn’t know if his pad was inside the line when he kicked it out,” Johansson said. … “I just wish I got a little bit more on it.”
Vladimir Tarasenko and Vladimir Sobotka struck for the Blues in regulation.
“I just feel like we can’t lose today,” Tarasenko said. “Sometimes you need to fight for someone. When he makes save like this, it’s on us to win the game.”
The Blues have been in a funk since early December and the win was their second straight, an accomplishment they had not reached since early December.
“I would say [Hutton] had the best game. That [overtime save] was huge. Even in the shootout, he did a good job for us. That was his game tonight,” Sobotka said of his goalie after the win.
Hischier scored in regulation for New Jersey and Taylor Hall netted a power play goal early in the third period to tie the game, eventually forcing overtime.
“I thought it was a good game for our team to play against a very well coached team and a very experienced team,” Devils hed coach John Hynes said. “I felt that we did find a way to get ourselves back in the game after the first and pushed. We had lots of opportunities to be able to win the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t get two points tonight.”
With the 3-2 win, the Blues improved to 25-15-2 after crossing over the midway point in their season.
[WATCH: All Devils vs. Blues highlights]
Keith Kinkaid made 27 saves in taking the loss as the Devils dropped to 22-11-7.
.”I felt pretty good out there. Guys made it easy on me the last two periods. That’s our game, and we had plenty of opportunities to score. Give credit to Carter Hutton. He played outstanding,” Kinkaid said after the loss.
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