Just over one minute into the game, Carl Gunnarsson took a shot from the point. Tarasenko was coasting by, so he tapped it in for his 21st goal of the season. His goal gave the Blues an early 1-0 lead.
Then Colton Parayko made me scream. He caught a pass in front from Tarasenko, and then slid it around a Flame to catch it on his backhand. He then–somehow—found the strength to lift it top shelf to give the Blues a two goal lead in the first.
Despite the lead, the Blues were outshot 8 to 7 in the first period.
Alexander Steen carried the puck into the Flames’ zone early in the second. Jori Lehtera was wide-open across the ice, and Steen found him. Lehtera took a slap shot to give the Blues a 3-0 lead; his fourth goal of the season.
The Blues were outshot 15-to-6 in the second.
The Flames woke up in the third. Sean Monahan tipped one past Brian Elliott to put the Flames on the board. His bat-in goal was similar to Steen’s earlier in the game, but this one counted.
Mikael Backlund brought the puck into the Blues’ zone with about four minutes left in regulation. He slid it over to Mark Giordano, whose shot was deflected by Kevin Shattenkirk. The puck ended up in the net, and the Flames got their second of the night.
Although the Blues were outshot 15-to-9 in the third, they came out on top with a 3-2 victory. The win gives them a 20-10-4 record, which is two points better than the Blackhawks.
The Blues play the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, 6:00 p.m.
