ST. LOUIS _ Like anyone saw that coming. A guy with two assists this season set up a guy with one goal this season for a goal that was pretty big for the Blues.
Joel Edmundson, who has yet to be known for scoring in his NHL career, pulled out a win with 19 seconds to play that the Blues really needed. His goal, in a game that also a saw an unlikely penalty shot for Ryan Reaves (he didn't score) gave the Blues a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks that put them three points up on the Kings in the race for the last playoff spot in the West and moved them within two points of third place Nashville.
Edmundson, who now has three goals in his two seasons of NHL play, took a pass from unlikely playmaker Robert Bortuzzo in a game the Blues needed to give themselves some breathing room in the playoff race.
With the clock running down, Bortuzzo skated the puck up ice, was forced wide, and centered a pass to Edmundson in the left circle, where he controlled the puck, shot and scored.
It also produced a seldom-seen win at Scottrade Center for the Blues. Home has been a hassle for the Blues, who have gone 4-10-1 at Scottrade Center since Dec. 12 (that doesn't include the Winter Classic at Busch Stadium) and can thank the hockey gods for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and the NCAA wrestling championships, which will put them on the road for most of the month of March.
Paul Stastny put the Blues up 3-2 in the first minute of the third period. He took a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko, cut across the slot at the dots, and with Jaden Schwartz getting in a collision that took out two defenders, Stastny had plenty of room to score his 18th goal of the season.
The Blues then had maybe the strangest sight in a season of strange sights: Ryan Reaves taking a penalty shot. Reaves was hooked by Patrick Eaves as he tried to finish a two-on-one with Joel Edmundson (that in itself was an unusual sight). Reaves, who had never had a penalty shot or been used in a shootout in his NHL career, came in on John Gibson and tried to cross over to his backhand, but Gibson pokechecked the puck away.
As unlikely as it would have been, it was a goal the Blues could have used. Just over three minutes later, the Blues were called for having too many men on the ice, once a regular occurrence but the first time they had been called for it since Mike Yeo took over as coach. Anaheim brought the pressure and with 14 seconds to go in the man advantage _ and the Blues without Colton Parayko, one of their leaders in ice time on the PK, who hadn't played since late in the second period, presumably because of an injury _ Jakob Silfverberg got free in front and scored.
The Blues took a 1-0 lead 12 seconds into the game on Tarasenko's 30th goal of the season. Jay Bouwmeester stopped the puck at the Blues' blue line, passed it up to Tarasenko who gave it to Jaden Schwartz and got it back and beat Anaheim goalie John Gibson, playing his first game since Feb. 20, from not far inside the blue line. It's the third straight season Tarasenko has scored 30 goals or more, making him the first Blue to do it three straight seasons since Keith Tkachuk.
Anaheim tied the game with 8:01 to go in the period, though it took a few more minutes for the goal to count. Rickard Rakell scored on a shot from the right flank on a break, but referee Chris Rooney immediately waved the goal off, calling goalie interference on Corey Perry. Perry had been pushed into Jake Allen by Jori Lehtera, and then got his stick tangled up with Allen, which kept him from getting across his crease to make the save.
The Ducks challenged the call and, after a review, the referees ruled there was no interference and the goal counted.
The Blues had a power play that led to heavy pressure on the Ducks, but no goals, and then fell behind in the final two minutes. Anaheim turned the puck up ice quickly, and forward Dmitrij Jaskin was way too soft in his coverage as Chris Wagner and Jared Boll worked a two-on-one, with the goal scoring when Boll's pass banked in off of Wagner's skate.
The Blues got even early in the second period with an unlikely combination. The Blues were in the middle of a line change, with Paul Stastny's line coming on and the fourth line coming off. The only member of the fourth line still on the ice was Ryan Reaves, who forced a turnover behind the Anaheim goal. The puck came out to Schwartz, who moved in on goal and was tripped. A penalty was called, but Schwartz kept his balance enough to get a shot off, which Gibson blocked but Reaves, who had moved in front of the goal, got the rebound and stuffed it in for the goal.
For Reaves, it was his fourth goal of the season and his 10th point, two off his career high.
The Blues had a decided edge with the puck in each of the first two periods, outshooting the Ducks 13-6 both times.
Jori Lehtera left the ice late in the third period after taking a puck to the head.
