-Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images
After a thriller win in shootout agains the Nashville Predators, the Blues came out on top again as Shattenkirk go his second game winner in as many days.
Jake Allen turned aside 26 of 28 shots to get the win over Carolina.
In the first period, Ryan Reaves came through as well with his second goal in two games. Steve Ott gave the feed to Reaves in front of the net who scored to give the St. Louis a 1-0 lead with almost two minutes gone in the opening period.
The first period was full of goals for both teams, but the Blues would get the second one on the road. This time it was T.J. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo tallying the assists on David Backes’s goal to give the Blues a 2-0 lead with 16:25 remaining in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Hurricanes goaltender Anton Khudobin was pulled after allowing two goals on three shots as Cam Ward replaced the netminder.
The scoring in the first period was not done yet as this time Justin Faulk netted his 10th of the season with assists from former Blues forward Jay McClement and Brad Malone.
At the end of one period of play, the scored remained 2-1 in favor of the visiting Blues.
Late in the second period was a different story as St. Louis’s lead evaporated as Jake Allen was unable to keep Ryan Murphy’s first goal of the year out of the net. The goal tied the game at two with one period remaining.
The third period saw a flurry of chances including a pair by Paul Stastny in the final minutes of play as well as a chance from Oshie. Ward turned away all 11 shots by St. Louis in the period as the game went to overtime.
In overtime, both teams notched three shots a piece but both Allen and Ward looked sharp. For the second night in a row, the Blues would go to a shootout to try and earn two points.
Shattenkirk scored in the fourth round against Nashville and beat Ward with a wrist shot in the Blues’ second attempt. Allen turned aside Carolina captain Eric Staal to seal the Blues second straight win after the All-Star break.
With the win, St. Louis improves to 31-13-4, which puts the Blues two points behind Nashville for the Central Division lead. The Predators do, however, have a game at hand currently.
In its next matchup, St. Louis will stay in the Easter Conference to take on the Washington Capitals on the road. The game will take place Sunday, Feb. 1 at 11 a.m. CT.
