Blues find ways to win when key players are out of the lineup

Add Schwartz to growing list of injuries, already missing Tarasenko, Bozak, 

Blais, Thomas, Scandella, no problem; they pull out 5-4 OT win over Coyotes

By LOU KORAC
The Blues already have a growing list of injuries they are dealing with, and thought they'd have to deal with another one heading into what seems like an everlasting series of games against the Arizona Coyotes.

But it wasn't the one everyone was thinking of when they saw Oskar Sundqvist being helped off slumped towards his right side after crashing into the wall in the neutral zone late in Friday's win.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Mike Hoffman (left) and Oskar Sundqvist celebrate Hoffman's OT winner

on Saturday against Arizona and a dejected Alex Goligoski.

No, this one was one that caught everyone off guard other than the Blues, and when it was announced that workhorse Jaden Schwartz would miss Saturday's game with a lower-body injury, the Blues dug deeper into their taxi squad to try and muster up enough with their backup goalie in goal and level this series with one more game to play Monday.

Ivan Barbashev, although he's skating on the top line these days, did his part; Jacob de la Rose did his part; Kyle Clifford did his part; Mackenzie MacEachern did his part; Sundqvist, who played despite missing the final five minutes Friday, did hos part; Zach Sanford did his part; Ville Husso did his part, and Austin Poganski, summoned up from the taxi squad to play in his second NHL game, did his part. And when push came to shove in the end, the big guns did what they needed to do with Jordan Kyrou scoring late, and Mike Hoffman whipping in the overtime game-winner in a 5-4 win over the Coyotes at Gila River Arena.

The Blues (9-4-2) already came into the game without forwards Tyler Bozak, Robert Thomas, Sammy Blais and we all know they're awaiting the return eventually of Vladimir Tarasenko, as well as defenseman Marco Scandella. Now throw Schwartz into the laundry bag and it's getting quite full. 

This is who the Blues are, this is who they've been. Take key players out of the lineup and they have guys step up in response, and the Blues gutted out a win with a bit of a makeshift lineup. 

Despite the stat sheet saying they were bludgeoned in the hit department, 40-18, their forecheck in the offensive zone when given the chance was effective and it directly involved their first, second, third and Hoffman's OT winner.

"Yeah, I mean any time you can do that, the chances you get, you want to try to bear down and capitalize," Hoffman said. "You don't get too many throughout a game, but they did a good job possessing the puck in our d-zone. I thought both teams played well. Like I said, it gets to overtime and anything can happen.

"... Obviously to get the contributions throughout the lineup is why this team is as strong as it is. If some guys aren't going one night, other guys will pick up their slack. That's what you saw here tonight, goals throughout the lineup and that's what makes us a good team."

And on the overtime winner, Vince Dunn was able to get into the Coyotes zone and disrupt a breakout, forcing a turnover. He kept it in the zone while the Blues could get a couple fresh bodies (Hoffman and Sundqvist) onto the ice while Arizona had to keep tired Clayton Keller, Christian Dvorak and Alex Goligoski on the ice.

Sundqvist snapped a puck to Hoffman, who calmly skated into the right circle and wired a lethal wrister that Antti Raanta had no chance of stopping high into the roof of the goal at 1:49.

"Our forecheck, being aggressive, our D being aggressive," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "That's the way we want to play hockey. 'Dunner' made a real good play there keeping that puck alive and forcing the turnover. Obviously 'Hoff' had a great shot and scored. It's a good win, good win." 

It didn't start off so hot for the Blues, who saw pesky thorn Conor Garland score 21 seconds into the game after picking Torey Krug's pocket and beating Husso, who has had the unfortunate luck of allowing a goal on his first shot faced twice in this series, on the second shot in his start at Anaheim and his third shot faced when he came on in relief against Colorado in the second game of the season.

But Husso settled in and made some dandy saves throughout the first two periods.

"I should be ready right away and they score on the first shift," said Husso after finishing with 32 saves. "That's hockey, but I felt pretty good all over the 60 minutes. I don't think it was anything like that playing the second period, but I felt pretty good.

"I need to focus for the next shot. I can't think how many goals they score, just need to focus for next puck and try to make the next save."

Clifford and Sanford scored first-period goals that were directly off precise forechecks and forcing turnovers. On the Clifford goal at 5:46 that tied the game 1-1, MacEachern's forecheck and breaking up the outlet started the whole play. Then de la Rose gets in on forecheck behind the net, Carl Gunnarsson with a d-man pinch, winning the wall battle by de la Rose, who flips puck back around the boards behind the net, and MacEachern's battle with Barrett Hayton, who gets stripped by de la Rose, he feeds Clifford for a wicked snap shot from the right circle high far post.

"Yeah, for sure. ... Every single line is doing a really good job right now," Barbashev said. "I think we've still got to do a better job in the d-zone, but everywhere else, the team is doing really good. It helps our team to build, and it's been pretty good so far.

"Cliffy, he's been playing around 10 minutes a night and he comes up with the big goals. So it's really helpful for a team. It gets everyone going and it's just been all good all around."

Sanford's goal came on a shot from the left circle after Barbashev retrieved it and fed him, and Sanford shot the puck between Poganski's legs screening Raanta, and Barbashev, who scored his second in as many games, drove the net and finished off Ryan O'Reilly's shot that was stopped by Raanta in the second period to make it 3-2. It was O'Reilly that stole a puck along the wall and the Blues went to work.

"I thought all our lines contributed tonight, did a good job, the D, everybody," Berube said. "It's really good to see. It's good to see guys like Clifford get a goal and it was good to see Sanford get a goal tonight. We got contributions up and down our lineup tonight, which was nice."
The Blues, 8-0-0 when leading after two, did give up the lead, but Kyrou and Hoffman went off to the races on a 2-on-1, and Kyrou made no mistake keeping the puck and wristing one short side with 5:37 left to the the game.

"Yeah, he's a great player," Hoffman said of Kyrou. "You know, through the season obviously there's going to be some ups and downs. You want to try to keep the downs to a minimum, but I think he's bounced back here and started playing some good hockey and obviously that was a huge goal for us."

And the Blues went to work again in the OT, and Hoffman was able to score from his office.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Zach Sanford (left) and Ivan Barbashev stepped up with key goals for the

Blues in the absence of Jaden Schwartz on Saturday against Arizona.

"Either one of those flanks on either side in the o-zone is probably your preferred spot and then you have your spots that you try and hit," Hoffman said. "So, I was lucky enough to have some time and space, catch those guys a little bit tired in the d-zone and able to get my shot off."

Berube said he knew Schwartz wouldn't be available early in the day. He's day-to-day and will be reevaluated Sunday, but in the meantime, the Blues will just continue to dip into their depth pool and keep trying to grind out wins.

"I think every single line is going," Barbashev said. "Even like the guys that didn't play for a long time like Rosy, Mac, today we had Poganski. Those guys are going and they're doing a really good job for us out there."