(Julio Cortez/AP Photo)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY- The Blues didn’t need all of the 5 minute overtime period to beat the New Jersey Devils. In fact, they left nearly 3 seconds on the clock as Vince Dunn scored with just 2.8 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
The win helped the Blues to inch even closer to the division lead, drawing to within 2 points of Winnipeg and Nashville. St. Louis and the Jets have 4 games remaining, while the Predators just have 3. At stake in the race for 2nd place is the home-ice advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, catching Winnipeg would likely set up a first-round matchup with the Dallas Stars.
Let’s get to the game highlights.
FIRST PERIOD
Arguably, the line that has played the best in the last two games has been the Tyler Bozak, Pat Maroon, and Robert Thomas line. It was Thomas who got the Blues on the scoreboard when he held the puck, circled the net, and put a backhand shot past Cory Schneider at the 15:09 mark of the opening period. Maroon and Bozak assisted on the goal. It was Bozak’s 400th career NHL point and Thomas’ 9th goal of the season.
Get used to this. Robert Thomas is only a rookie. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/xws9H3c2jn
— x – St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 30, 2019
New Jersey outshot the Blues 9-6 as it seemed the Blues were having a hard time getting to their game and sustaining a lot of pressure from all four lines.
SECOND PERIOD
Oskar Sundqvist was called for holding on a play behind the net that looked like just two guys battling to get to a puck. The penalty came at the 3:42 mark. New Jersey’s Drew Stafford found himself all alone in front of the net just over a minute into the man advantage and a pass from Pavel Zacha was timed perfectly. As a result, Stafford poked it in to tie the game at 1 goal each.
Perfect pass from Zacha for the #NJDevils first tally. #STLvsNJD pic.twitter.com/jwjZCQSvTd
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 31, 2019
This photo shows just how alone he was. There isn’t anyone else in the frame but Stafford and Allen.
Tyler Bozak scored about 10 minutes later to put the Blues back on top. His goal was a beautiful wrist shot from the top of the left circle on a delayed penalty. Blues twitter has this as Bozak’s 400th career point, but we believe it came on the assist on the Thomas goal. It’s ok. We aren’t trying to split hairs. We just want to clarify our earlier statement.
Assists on the goal went to Jay Bouwmeester and Thomas. Watching the replay you will see Thomas go to the net after getting rid of the puck. He and Maroon created a wall that no goaltender could see through and Bozak waited for just the right moment to snap the puck into the corner of the net. Schneider never saw it coming.
400 career points for Tyler Bozak thanks to this goal, which gives the Blues the edge. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/tJQk7lLFGk
— x – St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 31, 2019
The lead was short-lived, however, as Joey Anderson scored on a tip-in just 56 seconds later. It was a goal that Jake Allen had no chance of stopping and the two teams would skate all the way to the end of regulation without a deciding goal.
OVERTIME
This!
It’s even better in slo-mo 😍 #stlblues pic.twitter.com/ExiALEp4OK
— x – St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 31, 2019
OTHER NOTES
- Jake Allen picked up his 136th win. He needs just one more to tie Curtis Joseph for 2nd all-time for the Blues. Mike Liut sits on top with 151. With another back-to-back this week it looks like Allen will get the opportunity against either Chicago on the road or Philadelphia at home to reach 137 wins.
- Rookie Robert Thomas continues to grow and impress. He needs just one more goal to reach double digits. His 9 goals and 23 assists give him 32 points on the season. Given his average ice time of just 12:58, it’s an impressive total, especially when you compare it to the point totals of Jaden Schwartz (35) and Tyler Bozak (36) who are getting 3-4 more minutes of ice time than Thomas.
- The Blues have 4 games this week to close out the season, 3 of them at home. As always, Let’s go Blues!