St. Louis 3, Pittsburgh 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees:
Dan O'Halloran, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen:
Don Henderson, Matt MacPherson
Attendance:
18631
By SportsDirect Inc.
Blues 3, Penguins 2 (OT): Alex Steen scored 35 seconds into overtime as visiting St. Louis snapped its three-game winless streak (0-1-2).
The Blues controlled the puck in the offensive zone before Steen gained inside position on Pittsburgh defenseman Ben Lovejoy and deflected home blue-liner Zbynek Michalek's shot from the point. Steen's goal was his 24th of the season - and fifth in six contests.
Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo and fellow former Penguin Marcel Goc also scored for the Blues, who finished their six-game road trip with a 3-1-2 record and maintained their one-point lead over second-place Nashville in the Central Division. Jake Allen finished with 24 saves to improve to 19-6-4 on the season.
Blake Comeau and Steve Downie scored 17 seconds apart in the second period for Pittsburgh, which has dropped five of its last six and remained two points behind the second-place New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division. Nick Spaling notched two assists and Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 32 shots in the loss.
After collecting two goals and an assist in the Penguins' 4-2 victory over St. Louis on Feb. 21, Comeau converted a 2-on-1 rush with Daniel Winnik 8:41 into the second period to open the scoring. Downie elevated the puck home from the doorstep to double the advantage, but Bortuzzo's blast from above the left faceoff circle just under six minutes later and Goc's conversion from in close with 2:36 left in the session forged a tie.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh C Evgeni Malkin (lower body) sat out for the fifth straight game and RW Patric Hornqvist (undisclosed) missed his fourth in a row. St. Louis also was missing a key cog as D Carl Gunnarsson (upper body) was a bystander for the second consecutive contest. ... Bortuzzo's goal was his first since scoring for the Penguins against Carolina on Nov. 29 - a span of 39 games. ... The Blues killed off all three short-handed situations, improving to 43-for-46 on the penalty kill in their last 14 contests.
Top Game Performances
St. Louis |
|
Pittsburgh |
Robert Bortuzzo 1 |
Points |
Nick Spaling 2 |
Robert Bortuzzo 1 |
Goals |
Blake Comeau 1 |
David Backes 1 |
Assists |
Nick Spaling 2 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Jake Allen .923 |
Save Percentage |
Marc-Andre Fleury .914 |
Jake Allen 24 |
Saves |
Marc-Andre Fleury 32 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
St. Louis
|
35 |
3 |
0-0 |
3-3 |
13 |
34 |
Pittsburgh
|
26 |
2 |
0-3 |
0-0 |
7 |
26 |
Upcoming Games
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Penguins have a W/L % of .537 after a win and .562 after a loss.
-
St. Louis will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Blues have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .552 after a loss.