ST. LOUIS _ The Blues scored three power-play goals in an eventful 5-2 win over the Kings on Thursday night at Enterprise Center, but played most of the game without star forward Vladimir Tarasenko.
Tarasenko left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return. On his last shift, which ended with 6:01 to go in the first period, he split two Kings defenders entering the LA zone and one of them, Sean Walker, reached around with his stick to try to slow him and there was contact on Tarasenko's arms. However, Tarasenko did not show any immediate signs of injury other than a wince after the contact. He did not play the rest of the period and at the intermission, the team announced he would not return, which was a very quick announcement.
Vince Dunn, Alex Pietrangelo and Brayden Schenn scored power-play goals and Robert Thomas had his first goal of the season on the only even-strength goal. Schenn got his second goal of the game, into an empty net with 58.5 seconds to play.
It looked like the Blues had another goal, but replays showed that Thomas' shot had hit the crossbar and the goalpost and never crossed the line.
The second period started with the game tied 1-1. With 16:53 to go, Alex Iafallo tipped in a shot by Dustin Brown and the Kings were up 2-1.
It looked as though Thomas, who has been searching for his first goal, took a drop pass from Zach Sanford, who was having a great game, and appeared to score, but a replay review showed he hadn't. The Blues did get a power play on it, but couldn't' score on that one.
The Blues got another power play with 10:05 to go when Kyle Clifford was called for interference. Twenty-one seconds into the power play, David Perron fed Pietrangelo for a one-timer to tie the game with 9:44 to play. It was the fourth goal of the season for Pietrangelo.
At the time of the penalty, goalie Jordan Binnington skated out of his crease and bumped Clifford, who then cross-checked Binnington, and Ivan Barbashev and Oskar Sundqvist jumped Clifford. There were no additional penalties after the altercation.
One hundred seconds later, Thomas got his goal. He had a chance to shoot in the slot but slipped and mostly whiffed on it. Sanford pried the puck away from Jonathan Quick and got it free to Thomas, who had an open net to backhand the puck into.
It was the first goal of the season for Thomas.
"Trying to keep on building my game here," Thomas said this morning. "Maybe score a goal. ... I've got to figure out a way to score. I've had chances. All you can ask for really. Eventually get one and I'll get going."
Schenn gave the Blues a two-goal lead with 12:31 to go when he redirected a pass from Jaden Schwartz into an open net. It was the seventh goal of the season for Schenn and the second assist of the game for Schwartz.
A power-play goal by Dunn got the Blues even in the first period.
Dunn took a no-look backhand pass from Schwartz after a shot by Colton Parayko had gone wide. It banked off the skate of Drew Doughty _ no doubt to the delight of Keith Tkachuk _ and went to Dunn, who fired it into the net for his second goal of the season.
The Blues had fallen behind 1-0 on a goal by Jeff Carter. The Blues had the puck in their own end and Ryan O'Reilly was trying to get it out, but as he skated out tried to pass to Sundqvist, only to put it right on the stick of Blake Lizotte. He found Carter all alone in front of the net, and with no defenseman in sight, he had time to deke and fake until Binnington was out of position.
