{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
St. Louis 4, Minnesota 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 26, 2016
Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Referees: Jon McIsaac, Tim Peel
Linesmen: Michel Cormier, John Grandt
Attendance: 19396

ST. LOUIS -- David Perron went against his natural tendencies with the game on his stick on Saturday night.

The St. Louis left winger snapped a shot past Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk in the fourth round of a shootout to give the Blues a 4-3 win.

Perron was the only player to find the back of the net during the post-overtime session.

"Just saw the other guys go and actually on the way down was thinking backhand like I like to do and then, I don't know, I tried something different and it went in," Perron said.

It was a fitting end for a stellar night for Perron's line. Perron, left winger Jaden Schwartz and center Paul Stastny combined for four goals, totaled six points and finished a combined plus-5 for the Blues.

Schwartz had two third-period goals, Stastny scored in the second period and goalie Jake Allen made 28 saves as the Blues improved to 9-1-2 at home this season.

The Blues have a nine-game home points streak, their longest since Dec. 29, 2014-Feb. 3, 2015.

Perron and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo each had two assists. Perron upped his points streak to seven games. His second assist was No. 200 for his career.

"His whole game is connected to his feet," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said of Perron. "When he's moving, man, he's really an effective player. I thought five-on-five, killing penalties, the power play, I thought he did a heck of a job for us."

Center Mikko Koivu, left winger Erik Haula and center Charlie Coyle scored and goalie Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves for the Wild, who lost their fourth straight game and fifth in the last six against the Blues.

Schwartz tied the score at 3:27 of the third period with a tip-in of a Perron slap shot.

"He's really on top of his game right now; he's really playing well," Hitchcock said of Schwartz. "It's really good to see. He's just tenacious. The skill level and the timing of everything, I'm really happy for him."

Schwartz struck again 63 seconds later on a rebound for a power play goal to give the Blues a 3-2 lead.

Wild coach Bruce Boudreau challenged the goal, claiming Dubnyk was interfered by right winger Dmitrij Jaskin, but the replayed showed Jaskin was pushed into Dubnyk by Wild defenseman Ryan Suter.

"There was some goalie contact," Boudreau said. "It was iffy, but it's in the third period, the goal gave them the lead so I mean to me it was worth it, worth a gamble."

But Coyle tied the score with just 1:08 left, jamming in a centering pass from center Eric Staal from behind the net. It was Coyle's third goal in two games.

Allen came up big in the extra sessions, stopping all four shootout attempts and making a game-saving glove save on Wild left winger Jason Zucker in overtime.

"Just a fumbled puck," Allen said of the Zucker save. "The ice was getting pretty bad out there and just a turnover and quick shot. Luckily, I was sort of set enough that I could make and react to it."

Koivu gave the Wild a 1-0 lead with 8:24 left in the first period. Koivu, who extended his points streak to four games, cashed in from a pass from behind the net by Zucker.

The Wild led after the first period despite being outshot 16-9 by the Blues. For most of the first period, the Wild did indeed look like a team playing in its second game in as many days, but the Blues couldn't solve Dubnyk.

Stastny tied the score for the Blues at 7:41 of the second period. Perron set up the goal after intercepting a clearing attempt by Coyle, who then passed it to an open Stastny in the slot.

Haula tipped in a centering pass by right winger Jason Pominville for his third goal of the season to give the Wild a 2-1 lead with 10:17 left in the second.

Coyle believes it was a well-earned point for the Wild.

"They're not just going to sit back for us to do the same and get that equalizer," Coyle said. "Yeah, that's huge."

NOTES: Despite skating for the first time Friday, LW Alexander Steen (upper body) was not in the lineup for the Blues. Steen suffered an undisclosed non-concussion related injury on Nov. 15 against Buffalo. ... Wild D Christian Folin is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee that he suffered in the first period against Pittsburgh on Friday. Nate Prosser replaced Folin in the lineup. ... Wild F Chris Stewart scored 63 goals and 115 points with the Blues from 2011 to 2014. ... Minnesota continues its five-game road trip at Vancouver on Tuesday. St. Louis continues its five-game homestand against Dallas on Monday.
Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   St. Louis
Mikko Koivu 2 Points Jaden Schwartz 2
Mikko Koivu 1 Goals Jaden Schwartz 2
Mikko Koivu 1 Assists David Perron 2
N/A Power Play Goals Jaden Schwartz 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Devan Dubnyk .921 Save Percentage Jake Allen .903
Devan Dubnyk 35 Saves Jake Allen 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Minnesota 31 3 0-2 1-2 4 34
St. Louis 38 4 1-2 2-2 4 28
Upcoming Games
  • St. Louis will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Blues have a W/L % of .583 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Vancouver. The Wild have a W/L % of .417 after a win and .667 after a loss.