Blues beat Lightning 3-2 as Dylan Holloway taken to hospital but in stable condition

Matthew DeFranks, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Nov 5, 2024

Published in Hockey

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ST. LOUIS — The Blues won their second straight game by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday night but lost forward Dylan Holloway, who exited the game in the first period after he was hit in the right side of his head and neck region by a puck.

The team later announced during the second period that he was alert and stable and being transported to the hospital for “continued monitoring and further evaluation.”

The puck was a deflected shot attempt by Tampa Bay's Nick Paul that rode up and caught Holloway high off his shoulder, collarbone and neck area with 2:36 remaining in the first period. Holloway finished his shift and got to the Blues bench.

He received medical attention on the bench and was taken off on a stretcher. On his way down the Blues tunnel, Holloway moved his right arm.

Officials sent both the Blues and Lightning to their dressing rooms with 1:11 left in the first period. The teams finished the first period after intermission, and immediately before switching ends of the ice and beginning the second period.

Oskar Sundqvist and Alexey Toropcheno each scored their first goals of the season on Tuesday, and Jordan Kyrou added another. Jordan Binnington made 21 saves.

Nick Perbix and Victor Hedman scored for the Lightning.

The consecutive wins were the first by the Blues since beating the Islanders and the Hurricanes on Oct. 17 and 19, respectively. St. Louis (7-6-0) continues its five-game homestand on Thursday against Utah.

Lightning lead

At 2:39 of the second period, Perbix gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead after he walked around Matthew Kessel and stuffed a shot past Binnington and in front of Scott Perunovich. It was the fifth straight game that the Blues allowed the opposition to score first and the ninth time in 13 games this season.

Kessel and Perunovich were reunited on the third pair on Tuesday night due to the injury to Philip Broberg that will keep him out four to six weeks. With Broberg’s absence, Pierre-Olivier Joseph moved up in the lineup, and Perunovich entered.

When Kessel and Perunovich were last on a pairing together, it was last week in Philadelphia, when they were split by Ryan Poehling before a Flyers goal.

The goal by Perbix was the first of the season for him.

Bouncing back

About 5 1/2 minutes after Perbix gave the Lightning a lead, the Blues tied the game courtesy of Sundqvist’s first goal since January. Sundqvist had not scored since returning to the Blues lineup after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL.

Sundqvist put home a rebound of a Kessel point shot after initially recovering the puck at the bottom of the circle on a Toropchenko shot on goal. Sundqvist got the puck to the point for Zack Bolduc, who shuffled a backhand to Kessel to wind up and whack. It was Kessel’s first assist of the season.

While Sundqvist had not scored this season, he’d found a way to impact the game in different ways. He provided a net-front screen on Saturday when Colton Parayko scored against the Maple Leafs. He’s been thrust into taking the majority of right-handed draws while on the penalty kill. He’s briefly but not often seen time on the Blues’ second power-play unit.

Toropchenko gave the Blues a 2-1 lead with 1:35 left in the second period from the left dot when he finished a feed from Radek Faksa after Nathan Walker helped win the puck behind the net. For Toropchenko, it was his first goal since he signed a one-year contract extension last week.

Adding on and holding on

Kyrou extended the Blues lead 8:51 into the third period, scoring off a rush chance and set up at the net front on a pass from captain Brayden Schenn. Kyrou has goals in consecutive games after he went 10 games without one.

Kyrou is now tied for the team lead with four goals this season.

Victor Hedman’s long-range slap shot with 8:17 brought the Lightning within one goal. It was Hedman’s sixth shot attempt of the evening and third goal of the season, but the Blues did not allow the extra-attacker unit for Tampa Bay to enter the zone cleanly in the final minutes of the game.

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