It lasted six games, but defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues finally tasted the victory in the newly launched NHL postseason.
Brayden Schenn’s breakthrough goal at 15:06 of the Sunday Superior Power gave the Blues a 3-2 victory and cut the Vancouver Canucks’ lead to 2-1 in their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
It was the first win for St. Louis since the introduction of the bubble in Edmonton, Alberta; the Blues went 0-2-1 in round-robin play and fell the first two games of their series vs. Vancouver.
Game 4 is Monday night.
“All three games are tight. We finished the winner last night,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “You have to get your breaks here and there, and we scored more than them last night.”
The Blues made significant lineup changes after their Game 2 loss. Strikers Vladimir Tarasenko, who had scored another point in four postseason games, and Alexander Steen both sat and were “unfit to play,” according to Berube.
The coach also set starting goalkeeper Jordan Binnington, who had a .862 save percentage and a record of 0-4-0 in the restart.
“We didn’t have a win yet, so change it up,” Berube said.
Goalkeeper Jake Allen excelled in Game 3, saving 39.
“He was exceptional. We have two really good goals, and it’s up to the coach to play in the back-to-back,” said Blues winger David Perron, who scored his fourth goal of the postseason scored.
The Blues also played well for him, with the kind of dominant forward play and puck possession game that led them to the championship last season. St. Louis had 91 attempts in the game at 5-on-5, while Vancouver had 53.
“They were better last night. We knew they would come. They are the defending Stanley Cup champions for a reason,” Canucks captain Bo Horvat said. “They know what it takes to win, and they will not care for a fight.”
Schenn’s winner came just after he hopped the boards and replaced teammate Jaden Schwartz on a change.
“Luckily bounce. The puck popped right there to the middle,” Schenn said.
It was the second straight overplay in this tightly played series. Only this time it was the veteran Blues who got the win over their more inexperienced opponents from Vancouver.
“We need to have short-term memory loss,” Horvat said. “The good thing is we’ll play again tomorrow.”
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