ST. LOUIS _ A three-goal second period by Washington and more unproductive play by the St. Louis power play put the Blues' playoff hopes on life support.
Monday's 4-2 loss to Washington before 18,841 at Scottrade Center left them out of the wild-card picture with just three games to play in the regular season. The Blues went zero for four on the power play, and are currently in a one-for-15 funk with the man advantage over their last seven games.
They were facing a Washington team with former Blue T.J. Oshie out of the lineup and a goaltender (Braden Holtby) who has allowed four goals per game on the road this season. In addition, the Capitals were playing their second game of a back-to-back. But the Blues couldn't take advantage of those circumstances, falling to 43-30-6 on the season.
Trailing 3-2 after two periods, the Blues had some sustained pressure in the third period, outshooting the Capitals 15-11 in the final 20 minutes. But an empty net goal by Alex Ovechkin, his 46th of the season, sealed the deal with 1:31 to play.
