Blues can't win third straight again, as they lose 6-4 in Columbus

Matthew DeFranks, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Jan 4, 2025

Published in Hockey

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The modest steps will have to wait ... again.

In their seventh try at winning a third straight game, the St. Louis Blues again failed, this time in a 6-4 loss to the Blue Jackets on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. St. Louis is now 0-6-1 is such games this season, and missed a chance to go three games over .500 for the first time this season.

The Blues have also lost three straight games to the Blue Jackets, who received two goals from Dmitri Voronkov, and one each from Kirill Marchenko (power play), Mikael Pyyhtia (shorthanded), Adam Fantilli and Mathieu Olivier (empty net).

Jordan Kyrou (power play), Cam Fowler, Colton Parayko and Brayden Schenn (extra attacker) scored as part of a third-period onslaught for both the Blues and the Blue Jackets.

Joel Hofer made 32 saves in his first regulation loss since Nov. 17 in Carolina.

Falling behind

The Blues were outshot 18-7 in the first period, and went into the first intermission down 1-0 on the scoreboard thanks to Voronkov's first goal of the evening. Voronkov scored with 58.6 seconds remaining in the first period as he jammed home a loose puck at the net-front.

The Blue Jackets had the game's first four shots on goal, and the last eight in the final minutes of the first period. The Voronkov goal was the first one allowed at even strength by the Blues since Sunday against Buffalo, as St. Louis allowed two power-play goal on Tuesday in Chicago and shut out the Senators on Friday night.

It was also just the second time in the last seventh game that the Blues allowed the first goal of the game.

Fast and furious

Kirill Karchenko's goal just 2:15 into the second period gave the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead (a puck that deflected off Colton Parayko's stick and slipped through Hofer), but that was nothing compared to the avalanche of goals that happened in the third period.

The Blues and Blue Jackets combined for five goals scored in a span of just 3:40.

Pyyhtia scored shorthanded 3:44 into the third period, speeding around Brandon Saad and then cutting against the grain to score on Hofer. Kyrou scored 1:10 later on the same power play to bring the Blues back within 3-1.

Fantilli scored 31 seconds after Kyrou's goal, but that was rebut by Fowler's 100th career goal a minute and a half after that to make it 4-2. Voronkov's second of the evening just 29 seconds after Fowler's goal restored a three-goal Columbus lead with 12:36 remaining in the third period.

Whew.

The Blues weren't done, though. Parayko spanked a one-timer from the right circle with 7:06 left to make it 5-3, and Schenn scored with the extra attacker to make it 5-4 with 3:47 left. But St. Louis couldn't get closer, and Olivier's empty-netter with 1:01 remaining iced the game for Columbus.

Sundqvist back

After missing Friday's game due to illness, Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist was back in the lineup on Saturday in Columbus. He replaced Zack Bolduc, as it was the first time Bolduc was scratched under coach Jim Montgomery.

While Sundqvist missed Friday's game, it was possible that he would have sat out one of the two games of the back-to-back set anyway, as has been custom recently in his recovery from knee surgery in the spring.

Tucker tries

Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker tried to get his team going by starting a fight with Olivier in the second period, but the two players wrestled each other to the ice without throwing a punch.

It was the third straight game with a fighting major for the Blues.

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