In St Louis Wednesday night, the Blues were rescued by Jaden Schwartz who tied the game with the Boston Bruins midway through the third period and then struck just 30 seconds into overtime to give the Blues a 2-1 win and two precious points in the Western Conference playoff race.
The loser’s point for the Bruins enabled them to clinch a playoff berth in the east.
“Getting that goal, getting that one playoff point, it’s huge for us,” said the Bruins’ Ryan Donato, who staked the Bruins to a 1-0 lead in the first period. “Obviously, this wasn’t the result we wanted, but we’re where we want to be.”
The win was the third straight for the Blues who were circling the drain over the last few weeks.
“Colton gave it to me behind the net, and I knew I had some space, just tried to pick up some speed and see what was going to develop,” Schwartz said. “The one guy kind of went with [Brayden Schenn]. I kind of had a little 1-on-1, just tried changing the angle and getting it through the guy’s legs.”
St Louis is two points back of the second wild card spot in the west, currently held by the Los Angeles Kings.
“We’re resilient, showing character. You try and build throughout the game and get opportunities to get goals and wear teams down. As the second period went on into the third period, we felt like we wore them down. We were going to have a good opportunity to score,” the Blues’ Alex Pietrangelo said after the clutch win.
Jake Allen made 21 saves to get the win.
“We know if we lose a game or lose a couple, we might be out of it,” Allen said. “So, it’s just points right now.”
[WATCH: All Bruins vs. Blues highlights]
Anton Khudobin made 18 saves in taking the loss.
“We talk about puck possession,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We had it, and we gave it away. You’re always happy to be in the game and get that one point, but when you have a lead going into the third, you want to close.”
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