The three-game sweep of the NHL from Tuesday starts in St Louis where the Blues needed extra time to stub out a Nashville Predators’ rally.
Alexander Steen scored with less than a minute left in the overtime for the 4-3 win.
Alexander Steen scored game-winner in OT – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Steen was sent on a break by a pass from Paul Stastny.
“Yes, and a good first pass by [Alex Pietrangelo] to go to [Stastny] as opposed to me,” Steen said. “And [Stastny], I knew he was coming to me. Nice play.”
Dmitrij Jaskin, Kevin Shattenkirk and Robby Fabbri scored for the Blues.
“If you’re sitting on the bench, you’re hoping you get to the end of the buzzer because we weren’t really in control of anything,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “Other than the first two-thirds of the first period, which was exceptional, we weren’t in control of anything. We were trying to keep up to them and they were trying to keep up to us, but neither team was checking very well. Both teams looked like they were a little bit tired for whatever reason. When you come off your checking against that team, you’re going to get beat.”
Mattias Ekholm, Shea Weber and Colin Wilson scored for the Predators.
“I think we were just pressing,” Predators center Mike Fisher said. “We felt good about our game and we were getting pucks and getting chances. We felt like it was just a matter of time that we were going to get our break and we did. … We ended up with those last two goals, which were key.”
Jake Allen picked up the win on 30 saves.
“The win’s the win at the end of the day but to give up with five minutes left a two-goal lead and let them back in the game and give them hope, it’s not the right thing to do and we all know that,” Allen said. “You can’t really say anything about it now, but we wish we could take those five minutes back and do it a little differently, but we got the win, we found a way, and move on to the next game.”
In Glendale, the Chicago Blackhawks outscored the Arizona Coyotes, 7-5.
The Hawks were 3-for-4 on the power play.
“We were three for our first three power plays, and that’s nice to rely on if you are struggling to score,” Chicago’s Patrick Kane said. “It’s been inconsistent over the years, but we have two good units right now and a lot of depth.
“If one unit doesn’t get it started, the other one wants to get out there for a chance to cash in.”
Kane had a power play goal in the win.
Shane Doan had a hat trick for the Coyotes.
“It’s an unbelievable sacrifice he makes and the leadership he shows that when a game is out of hand he’s not going to quit,” Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. “That’s a great lesson for our guys in the lineup.”
Duncan Keith, Artem Anisimov, Artemi Panarin, Andrew Desjardins (two goals), and Jonathan Toews scored for the Blackhawks.
“The goalie’s job is to stop the puck,” Arizona coach Dave Tippett said. “There are screens … but three out of five shots go in. We need some more saves.”
Corey Crawford made 32 saves for the win.
In Sunrise, the Florida Panthers won their seventh straight, 3-1, over the Montreal Canadiens.
Aleksander Barkov had two goals in the win.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Barkov said. “We’re pretty confident. We know how to play the game and how to win the game.”
Jaromir Jagr had the other goal for the Panthers.
“(We) play to our strength,” Jagr said. “We’re all strong enough to play 1-on-1. They’ve got the speed, I think I’ve got the strength. We are close to each other and we work together. Sooner or later, somebody will have a chance; it doesn’t matter who.”
Roberto Luongo made 27 saves for the Panthers’ win.
“I thought the boys played a strong game, one of their best of the year,” Luongo said. “As far as structure, we really didn’t have any breakdowns at all. It was a great game for our team, especially for what was at stake.”
Max Pacioretty scored the lone goal for the Habs who were coming off a skid-ending win.
“We should have a lot of energy coming off a win like we did last night and we did have a little bit of energy in the first, but too many Grade A chances and that team is really hot right now, especially their top line,” Pacioretty said. “They’re feeling good about their offense. It seems like they were executing on every play. We’ve got to take a page out of that book and try and do what they did a bit and make sure (if) the easy play is there, bear down and make it and do that over and over again throughout 60 minutes, and (we) should have a better result.”
Montreal has lost seven of their last eight games.
Ben Scrivens got his first start in the Habs’ net after being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers.
“I feel like I can play at this level,” Scrivens said. “Obviously, things didn’t work out perfectly in Edmonton, but it’s a business, first and foremost. I’m happy to be here in Montreal and try to give the team a chance to win whenever the coach says I’m going that night. Personally, it’s a good challenge, and I think I’m ready. I thought I played pretty well tonight and hopefully I can build off it going forward.”
Scrivens made 27 saves in the loss.
“Scrivens came in and played a great first game in the NHL this year,” Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. “We had two or three great chances on the first couple of shifts. He made some big saves, and they capitalized on the power play. I thought the big point for us was when we scored on the power play late in the first period.”
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