Special teams doom Blues in 4-2 loss to Sabres

Matthew DeFranks, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Dec 29, 2024

Published in Hockey

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ST. LOUIS — A third consecutive win remains elusive for the Blues.

During a 4-2 loss to the Sabres on Sunday afternoon, the Blues squandered another chance to string together three straight wins as they are now 0-5-1 in such games. Jason Zucker scored the game-winning goal for Buffalo with 9:30 left in the third period.

Zucker's one-timer from the hashmarks was on the power play after Zack Bolduc was called for cross-checking in the Blues' zone. It untied a game that Nathan Walker knotted at 5:56 of the third period when he banged home a rebound at the net-front.

Zucker's goal was also the second one of the day for the Buffalo power play. Jiji Kulich added an insurance goal with 3:41 remaining, splitting Jordan Binnington's legs with a shot off the rush.

Walker and Brayden Schenn scored for the Blues, who will travel to Chicago for Tuesday's Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.

Against the run of play

The Blues entered first intermission down 2-1 despite holding a 15-6 edge in shots on goal in one of their most lopsided periods of the season. The Sabres scored on two of their first three shots on goal on Binnington, thwarting what had been an excellent start to the game by the Blues.

Peyton Krebs scored at 6:52 of the first period after an icing by Robert Thomas, and then a won faceoff by Jiri Kulich, followed by a set play that found Krebs on the backdoor for a deflection. The goal was the eighth given up by the Blues in the 30 seconds after an icing, according to More Hockey Stats.

Former Blues forward Tage Thompson doubled the Sabres' lead at 13:06, walking through the slot while on the power play to beat Binnington clean for his 18th goal of the season. It was the third goal given up by the Blues penalty kill in the past two games, and that doesn’t include Mark Jankowski’s goal for Nashville just four seconds after a Blues penalty expired.

The Blues struck back when Schenn scored with 4:13 left in the period, slamming home a puck that was laying behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. It came during four on four after Alex Tuch nullified a Sabres power play by high-sticking Oskar Sundqvist.

The plus-9 shot margin was the second-most for the Blues in any period since Jim Montgomery took over as head coach on Nov. 24.

Powerless

The Blues went 0 for 4 on the power play on Sunday afternoon, just the third time this season that they failed to score on at least four power-play opportunities. St. Louis did generate seven shots on goal and 12 shot attempts, and it looked dangerous during the first power play of the game, but they couldn’t break through.

St. Louis scored once on the power play Friday against Nashville to snap a seven-game skid without scoring on the man-advantage, as Robert Thomas’ third-period goal gave the Blues breathing room against the Predators.