For the second straight game, the Boston Bruins found themselves in a dead tie after 65 minutes, heading to a shootout against the St. Louis Blues.
Unfortunately, Saturday’s outcome was not the same as Wednesday’s for Boston thanks to Sammy Blais’ sixth-round shootout goal to give the Blues a 2-1 victory at Enterprise Center. This was the fifth time in eight games the B’s have gone to overtime or a shootout, and the loss snapped the Bruins’ seven-game winning streak.
Chris Wager had the lone goal for Boston, while Alex Steen and Blais accounted for the Blues’ tallies.
Tuukka Rask was strong in net, stopping 28 shots in regulation and overtime, while Jordan Binnington denied 31.
With the loss, the Bruins slipped to 36-17-9, while the Blues improved to 33-23-5.
Here’s how it all went down.
BLUES STRIKE FIRST
St. Louis played a physical first that Boston just couldn’t keep up with, as it looked sluggish for most of the period.
The Blues got on the board first at the 7:15 mark when Peter Cehlarik turned the puck over in the neutral zone that led to a short-side snipe from Steen.
WHAT. A. SHOT. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/flO6nIpFZV
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) February 23, 2019
The B’s almost went down 2-0 in the final seconds when Vladimir Tarasenko rang the crossbar.
Torey Krug also had a costly turnover before the period expired and it resulted in a tripping penalty. Boston already was on the power play and began the middle frame playing 4-on-4.
B’S EVEN IT
Boston looked as if it had fresher legs to begin the second and Wagner helped build that case with the game-tying goal. The Walpole, Mass. native was fed a Kevan Miller cross-ice pass and beat Binnington glove side to tie it 1-1 with 5:12 into the period.
The Blues looked like they were going to reclaim the lead, but Charlie McAvoy broke up a pass with a diving play. Binnington also kept the lead in tact when he denied David Backes from the slot when he got a piece of the puck with his glove.
Boston outshot the Blues to end the second period, 11-7.
GAME STAYS TIED
The B’s controlled much of the third period in the shot department, and Rask made some timely saves to keep the game alive. But Binnington was just as good, stopping everything that came his way.
Boston had its best scoring chance in the final three minutes when it crashed the net but couldn’t get a shot on net. The team continued to dominate in the zone but couldn’t find twine.
Thanks to some stops from each goalie, the game needed overtime — something the Bruins have been familiar with on this trip — to decide the winner.
OVERTIME NOT ENOUGH
It was a pretty evenly matched overtime, with Tarasenko trying to put the game away in the final two minutes, on top of other prime opportunities to seal the win, but Rask stood on his head and denied the Blues a chance at victory.
SHOOTOUT
Round 1: Tyler Bozak slowed down before ripping the puck past Rask. Jake DeBrusk tried his luck, but was denied by Binnington.
Round 2: Tarsenko tried to backhand a shot, but it went wide to give the Bruins a chance to catch up. Marchand whiffed his shot and couldn’t get under the puck.
Round 3: Ryan O’Reilly tried to win it for St. Louis but Rask turned him away. Newcomver Charlie Coyle got his chance to shine and finally beat Binnington to keep Boston alive in the shootout.
Round 4: Rask denied Steen, giving former Blues’ David Backes a chance to win it, but Binnington stopped him.
Round 5: Rask stopped Robert Thomas with a glove save before Bergeron was denied.
Round 6: Sammy Blais faked out Rask when he forced him out of the crease to put the puck in the net. Danton Heinen had a change to keep the game alive for Boston, but was denied by Binnington to give St. Louis the win.
UP NEXT
The Bruins return home for a matchup with the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET.
This Bruins Wrap is presented by Plainridge Park Casino.
