St. Louis Blues roll to 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators in a shootout
After a brutal streak of five consecutive losses that saw them let in 28 goals, the St. Louis Blues are starting to turn things around. Riding a two-game winning streak into their game
against the Nashville Predators, one of their divisional rivals, the Blue hoped to extend their streak to three games. Their wish was granted after they won a hard-fought game 2-1 in a shootout on Wednesday 24 November.
How it happened
The Blues were quick to strike in the first period, as Andy McDonald put them on the board with his sixth goal of the season. McDonald scored nine seconds into the match, with Alex Pietrangelo
and Brad Boyes earning the assists.
In the second period, the Preds evened the score at one goal apiece when Jerred Smithson fired a wrist shot that found the back of the net at 0:22. Smithson’s second goal of the season
was assisted by Joel Ward and Shea Weber.
With the score still tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation play, the game moved into overtime. However, at the end of overtime, neither team had managed to score an addition goal. Thus,
the game would require a shootout in order to determine the winner.
Players from both teams missed the net in the first four rounds of the shootout, but McDonald finally beat Pekka Rinne in the fifth round. Sergei Kostitsyn’s attempt at tying the shooutout
chipped wide off the post. the Blues earned a 2-1 victory.
What they’re saying
McDonald used a backhand shot to put the puck behind Rinne, but by his own admission, he was not the architect of the game-winning goal.
“Actually, I talked to (Brad Boyes) on the bench, and he suggested that (move) to me,” McDonald told reporters after the game. “That’s one that I have had success with in the past, and
I try to use something that I am comfortable with.”
Rinne is a tough customer to deal with in shootouts, as since entering the league, he has posted a 14-6 record in the sudden-death tiebreaker. Despite his strong play, Predators head coach
Barry Trotz thought that his team deserved to win the game more than the Blues did.
“There will be nights where we get outplayed a little bit and go into a shootout and get the extra point,” Trotz said. “This one’s tough to take because I thought we really deserved the
two points tonight.”
Although his team earned the win, Blues head coach Davis Payne thought his team could have put up a better effort.
“We overhandled some pucks, we underhandled some pucks, and there was some play that they applied pressure in our own zone that we got ourselves running around a little bit,” Payne said.
“In the end, we will take this as two points knowing that we snuck out of here with an extra one or two.”
Both teams will return to the ice on Friday 26 November. St. Louis will visit the Dallas Stars, while Nashville will take on the Minnesota Wild.
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