Robert Thomas netted two power-play goals in the third period, propelling the St. Louis Blues to a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night, marking their fourth consecutive win.
Adding to the power-play prowess, Jake Neighbours also found the back of the net in the third for the Blues. Kevin Hayes contributed a goal in the second period, while Pavel Buchnevich notched three assists.
Reflecting on the challenging back-to-back games, Thomas remarked, “Those games are always tough, especially when they’re kind of waiting on you. We found a way to win, and that’s the important thing. I don’t think it was our best game by any means, but when you find a way to win, you can’t complain.”
The Blues (36-29-3) are now four points behind Vegas for the second wild card in the Western Conference, with the Golden Knights securing a 3-1 victory over the Devils earlier in the day.
Despite Troy Terry’s two goals for Anaheim (23-42-3), marking their sixth consecutive loss, Ducks’ coach Greg Cronin expressed frustration, stating, “We don’t shoot the puck enough.
We have the puck in the slot and won’t shoot it. It’s amazing to me.” Joel Hofer made 26 saves for the Blues, while rookie goalie Lukas Dostal stopped 23 shots for the Ducks.
St. Louis struggled on power plays in the first period but capitalized in the third, with Thomas scoring at 1:53 and Neighbours extending the lead at 6:12. Thomas sealed the victory with his second goal of the period at 9:31.
Commenting on the power-play success, interim Blues coach Drew Bannister remarked, “I think we felt after the second period that we needed to make adjustments on the power play and just change it up to see if we can get some life on our power play.”
Despite the Ducks’ tough stretch, Terry emphasized the importance of maintaining the right attitude, stating, “It’s crucial not to start playing the wrong way, especially with the young guys and creating bad habits. We’ve got to keep playing the right way and not feeling sorry for ourselves.”
