ST. PAUL, Minn. _ Two players who were not with the Blues for the bulk of the season sent them to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs Saturday.
A nifty drive to the net by Vladimir Sobotka set up the biggest goal of Magnus Paajarvi's NHL career, catapulting the Blues to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild in overtime.
The game-winner, after the Blues relinquished two two-goal leads in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series, came with 10 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the first OT.
The Blues won the series four games to two and afterwards Mike Yeo and his new club wrapped up the win by shaking hands with the Wild, the team that fired Yeo last year.
It certainly wasn't a conventional series, or the closing-out win the Blues would have drawn up, but they won the series nonetheless and now advance to play Nashville in the second round. It will be the first-ever postseason series between the two franchises.
It was a dizzying finish Saturday.
The Blues opened a 3-1 lead with 12:37 left in regulation on a goal by Paul Stastny, who made his triumphant return to the lineup Saturday. But after having one goal waved off, the Wild picked up two in a span 4:21 to tie the game.
Mikko Koivu and Jason Zucker scored to erase a lead the Blues had twice stretched to two goals _ 3-1 on Stastny's third-period goal and 2-0 on Alexander Steen's first-period tally. They led 2-1 at the first intermission after a regrettable penalty by Scottie Upshall led to a power-play goal by Ryan Suter. But the Blues were outshot 26-12 in the final 40 minutes, sitting back and being forced into penalties as the Wild poured it on.
The Blues played a much more spirited first period in Game 5 than three nights earlier in St. Louis. They were outshot 11-1 in the early going in Game 4, but built a 7-1 advantage Saturday afternoon.
The second one of the day belonged to Stastny, who was making his first appearance in a month, missing the first four games of the series with a foot injury. His chance to make a quick splash, though, was turned aside by Dubnyk.
But on the Blues' eighth shot of the period, Vladimir Tarasenko made his first ripple, scoring his first goal of the series, for a 1-0 lead just 7:16 into the game.
Minnesota was under siege and attempted to clear the puck, but Jaden Schwartz somehow kept it in the zone with a no-look, behind-the-back, backhanded stab. He then fed to Tarasenko, who drove the net and, after losing possession, kicked it back to his forehand and beat Dubnyk.
The goal was a good sign for the Blues, as the team to net the first in each game was undefeated. In fact, clubs around the NHL playoffs were 30-10 when scoring first heading into Saturday.
But a Blues' team seeking much more offense in Game 5 was not done after Tarasenko's 20th career postseason goal.
The club jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Steen's second goal of the series 10:31 into the game.
Again, Minnesota was attempting to rid their zone of the puck when Blues defenseman Colton Parayko picked off a clearing attempt by the Wild's Charlie Coyle. Parayko then fed to Steen, whose blast brushed off Minnesota defenseman Marco Scandella and beat Dubnyk for goals on back-to-back shots.
The pair of Blues had time because Jori Lehtera, back in the lineup Saturday after being a healthy scratch the past three games, was occupying the Wild defensemen in front of the net. He took a beating, but withstood it, allowing the Blues to go up by two goals.
But the advantage would not stand.
Upshall took an unnecessary cross-checking penalty that put Minnesota on a power play with 2:49 left in the first period.
Upshall carried the puck into the offensive zone, but got his stick up into the face of Wild defenseman Nate Prosser and was whistled.
The Blues' penalty-killing unit had been terrific throughout the series, but surrendered its first 5-on-4 power-play to Suter.
With Upshall in the box, Suter took a pass from teammate Jared Spurgeon and teed up a blast on Allen. The puck deflected off Sobotka's stick and slipped past the goalie for a 2-1 Wild deficit with 1:29 left in the period.
The teams played a scoreless second period, but that doesn't mean it was uneventful. There was a near-fight involving mild-mannered Jori Lehtera, a near-goal by Alex Pietrangelo that was stopped by a skate blade and a scary moment when Minnesota's Eric Staal went head first into the end boards.
Lehtera dropped his gloves, but a fight with Prosser never materialized. The Blues got a power play and nearly scored when Pietrangelo sent a shot into the crease. But Spurgeon's skate blocked the puck just before it went over the goal line, keeping the score 2-1 seven minutes into the period.
Meanwhile, Allen had the Blues' goal line covered. Saves on Spurgeon and Zucker within a minute's span midway through the frame maintained the club's slim advantage.
The score in Saturday's game didn't matter for a brief time late in the second period when Staal broke in for a scoring chance. He clipped skates with Allen, falling and crashing hard into the boards after the play. He lay on the ice for four minutes before skating off with some assistance.
Minnesota would need some assistance in the third period, and got it from the Blues with a penalty on Lehtera. But for the second straight time on the power play, the Wild took a penalty of their own, negating the man-advantage.
The two sides played four on four for 1:48, but when the penalty to Lehtera expired, he came out of the box and set up Stastny for a goal that put the Blues ahead 3-1 with 12:37 remaining in regulation.
Minnesota answered with what appeared might be a goal from Martin Hanzal with 11:17 left. But referee Francis Charron waved it off, calling goalie interference on Neiderreiter. After a lengthy review, the call stood.
But the Wild did eventually pick up a goal that pulled them to within one of the Blues. With Jay Bouwmeester sitting in the box for holding, Koivu netted a power-play goal for a 3-2 score with 9:22 remaining.
Moments later, Bouwmeester took his second penalty of the period, an interference. Minnesota didn't score on that power play, but shortly after it expired, Zucker tied the game 3-3, speeding into the zone and wrapping a shot around Allen.
