BLUES The St. Louis Blues picked up one point Wednesday in Edmonton. The night after a tough loss in Winnipeg, the Blues had their hands full going against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at Rogers Place. While the game went to overtime, McDavid would score with under 30 seconds left to send the Blues home with a loss.
“Tough back-to-back for us, getting in late and playing a team that’s so fast and dynamic,” Robert Thomas said after the game. “I think we did a really good job. I don’t think we can be upset with ourselves. We were in that game right to the end, we did a ton of great things and had a bunch of chances. Very happy with our effort.”
The Blues came out swinging against the Oilers. Both Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich scored in the first five minutes of the game to go up 2-0. Despite a power-play goal from Zach Hyman, the Blues would take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, which they hadn’t done since Feb. 11.
Hyman would score again in the second period, taking advantage of a mistimed line change, but the Blues would settle in and shut down Edmonton for the remainder of regulation.
Both teams traded blows in overtime, but McDavid would get the last laugh, taking a tough-angle shot that bounced off the shoulder of Jordan Binnington and into the net.
“It kind of got a lot of my jersey,” Binnington said, “which is kind of weird, but sometimes bounces go like that, and (for) a guy who works that hard, it happens.”
Despite the loss, Blues Head Coach Drew Bannister saw a lot of his team can build on going into Saturday’s matchup with Minnesota.
“Loved the effort out of our guys,” he said. “I thought we dug in here (Wednesday). Disappointed for the guys that we weren’t able to get a win, but a lot of positives we can take from that game moving forward.”
St. Louis is seven points behind the Nashville Predators, who’ve won seven straight. With the Wild just a point back, Saturday’s game will be huge for the Blues as they try to create separation from the pack and catch the Preds.
The Blues desperately need a win before they embark on a five-game road trip up the east coast. The trip opens Monday night in Philadelphia before visiting the Islanders, Devils, Rangers and Bruins.
