Patrik Berglund scored twice, including the game-winner, lifting the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks in NHL action Friday at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
St. Louis sits one point behind the Colorado Avalanche in the battle for the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Dimitrij Jaskin also tallied for the Blues (41-28-5), while Sam Gagner scored for Vancouver (26-40-9).
Jake Allen picked up the goaltending victory, making 19 saves. Anders Nilsson stopped 21 Blues shots in taking the loss for the Canucks.
Within the first minute of the game, St. Louis got on the board.
Blues’ defenceman Alex Pietrangelo skated up the wing and sent a pass to Berglund who backhanded the puck above Nilsson’s blocker for his 11th goal of the season just 40 seconds into the contest.
Patrick Berglund makes it 1-0 #Blues one minute into the game. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/zN5ApDq4KJ
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) March 24, 2018
At 4:44 of the second period, Berglund recorded his second goal of the game (a shorthanded tally) when Kyle Brodziak fed him the puck and he slotted it through the legs of Nilsson to put the Blues up by two.
Goal on the #Canucks PP! Except it's Berglund and they scored shorthanded. 2-0 #Blues. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/IAyOnifGoT
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) March 24, 2018
At the time of Berglund’s second goal, St. Louis had two goals on six shots.
As a Vancouver power play ended, they finally found the scoresheet at 14:47 of the second, when Henrik Sedin sent a cross-crease pass to Gagner who snapped it past Allen for his first goal in 26 games, to make the score 2-1.
Sedin ➡️ Sedin ➡️ @89SGagner 🚨 pic.twitter.com/hWJnqUPHQ8
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 24, 2018
Shots after the end of the second were 17-15 in favour of Vancouver.
Only 14 seconds into the third period, Tarasenko snagged the puck directly in front of the Canucks’ net and sent a soft shot along the ice and through the legs of Nilsson for his 28th goal of the season.
Tarasenko with the changeup that fools Nilsson pic.twitter.com/BXlHNwSCNU
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) March 24, 2018
Midway through the third, Canucks forward Jake Virtanen wired a wrist shot off of the crossbar, coming close to making it a one-goal game.
With two minutes and 29 seconds left in the game, Jaskin netted his sixth goal of the year after knocking in the puck in the Canucks’ crease through Nilsson to make the final 4-1.
Jaskin makes it 4-1 #Blues with 2 minutes left in the game. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/BtYyTbQuI3
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) March 24, 2018
GAME NOTES:
Vancouver: With seven games to play, the Canucks are in 30th spot overall in league standings, three points ahead of the last-place Buffalo Sabres, who have a game in hand.
St. Louis: Vladimir Tarasenko has 11 points in his last 11 games against the Canucks (four goals, seven assists)…defenseman Joel Edmundson played for the Kamloops Blazers in 2012-13… Scottie Upshall played for the Kamloops Blazers from 2000-03.
@kieranroconnor
kieran.oconnor@bpdigital.ca
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