John Gibson made 34 saves as the Anaheim Ducks defeated the St. Louis 4-1 to complete a four-game homestand sweep.
Sam Carrick, Troy Terry, Sam Steel and Benoit-Olivier Groulx scored for the Ducks, who extended their point streak to six games (4-0-2).
Brandon Saad scored and Jordan Binnington made 23 saves for the Blues, who suffered just their second regulation loss in 10 games this season.
The Blues scored just 13 seconds into the game with their newly reunited top line. Captain Ryan O’Reilly returned from COVID-19 protocol after missing four games and rejoined David Perron and Saad.
After the Ducks turned the puck over trying to leave their own zone, Perron fired a cross-ice pass to Saad on the inside edge of the left circle. Saad fired a quick shot through Gibson for his third goal in his first three games back from his own COVID-19 absence.
Binnington stopped Derek Grant’s breakaway a few minutes later to keep the Blues up 1-0. Then Klim Kostin just missed doubling the Blues’ lead when he hit the right post on a 2-on-1 break with Ivan Barbashev.
Kostin just missed on another scoring opportunity 2 1/2 minutes into the second period when he rang a shot off the crossbar.
The Ducks tied the game 1-1 at 8:23 of the second period. With Blues defenseman Colton Parayko out of position while getting a new stick from the bench, Carrick converted a 2-on-1 rush with Grant.
Terry put the Ducks ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal 2:46 into the third period. He scored from point-blank range on a tic-tac-toe passing play to extend his point streak to 11 games (eight goals, six assists).
Sam Steel made it 3-1 at 8:31 of the period by deflecting Hampus Lindholm’s shot from the left point. Groulx’s first NHL goal, scored into an empty net with 48 seconds left, iced the game.
–Field Level Media