The St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings played a tight battle on Tuesday night, eventually requiring a four-round shootout that ended with a Detroit victory at Enterprise Center.
A 2-2 tie after the first period held for the remainder of regulation and overtime, with the Blues' goals coming from Marco Scandella and Robert Bortuzzo. They were the defensemen's first and second goals of the season, respectively.
Detroit saw goals from Alex Chiasson and Filip Zadina, with David Perron recording an assist for the Red Wings in his emotional return to St. Louis.
"It's always good to see some old faces," said Bortuzzo. "You can tell by the ovation he got there how much (Perron) meant to this city and this organization."
The Blues have a chance for quick revenge on Thursday, heading to Detroit for the second straight matchup in the home-and-home series. Flipping the script on the returns to St. Louis Tuesday, it will mark the first time back in Detroit for former Red Wings Nick Leddy, Thomas Greiss and Jakub Vrana.
Leddy played 55 games in Detroit last season before being traded to the Blues at the 2021 Trade Deadline, totalling one goal and 15 assists. Greiss played the last two seasons with the Red Wings, starting 57 games and recording a .901 save percentage. Vrana spent parts of three seasons with Detroit, posting 32 points in 42 games played
With Ville Husso getting Tuesday off, it is likely he makes his first start against the Blues on Thursday night. After Joel Hofer stopped 93 of 97 shots - for a 2-0-1 record - in his three NHL starts this week, the Blues may give their young goaltender a rest and put Jordan Binnington up against his former teammate.
Continuing on from Detroit, the Blues head out West for a back-to-back with Anaheim and Los Angeles to finish the road trip this weekend.
The Blues will rematch the Red Wings with a 31-33-6 record, worth 68 points and sixth in the Central Division.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues have earned points in eight of their last 10 trips to Detroit, going 7-2-1 dating back to the 2012-13 season... ... Nathan Walker's next game will be No. 100 in his NHL career... Jakub Vrana and Jordan Kyrou each have five goals since March 9, sharing No. 6 in the NHL. Vrana's three power-play goals in that span share No. 3 in the League... Hofer and Greiss delivered the fourth combined shutout in franchise history on Sunday, totalling 34 saves to beat the Winnipeg Jets
Lucas Raymond and Magnus Hellberg lifted Detroit to a shootout victory at St. Louis on Tuesday. The Red Wings will look to make it two wins in a row when they host the Blues on Thursday.
Raymond scored the only goal during the shootout while Hellberg, Detroit's backup goalie, stopped all four of the Blues' attempts. Detroit (31-30-9, 71 points) had lost 10 of its previous 12 contests and was coming off a 5-2 loss to Florida on Monday.
The Wings can match last season's win total with a victory on Thursday.
"We got what we deserved," coach Derek Lalonde said. "I really appreciated the effort from the guys on a back-to-back, with travel, then to get down early in the game, we could have won this in regulation. I loved that we hung in there and in overtime and found a way in the shootout."
The game unfolded in an odd fashion. Both teams scored twice during the first period, then no one could find the back of the net until Raymond's game-ending shootout goal.
"It's been a tough stretch of late," Lalonde said. "We've talked about having something to play for a little bit, where our morale was, and I give the guys a ton of credit. They played with some urgency (Tuesday)."
For Raymond, it was a much-needed boost. One of the top rookies in the league last season, Raymond has not been as productive this season. He has recorded just one goal and five assists during regulation since Jan. 21. He also missed eight games during that stretch due to an injury.
Alex Chiasson scored his fourth goal in nine games since being elevated from the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins. Filip Zadina scored just his third goal in 29 games this season. Zadina missed a chunk of the season due to a broken leg.
Hellberg recorded his first victory since Feb. 16.
"It's been a tough stretch lately as you all know," Hellberg said. "So winning a back-to-back game, we played (Monday) and they didn't, it shows a lot of character from our team and that we can come up with a win."
Defensemen scored both goals for St. Louis (31-33-6, 68 points). Robert Bortuzzo notched his second goal this season and Marco Scandella got his first.
Scandella missed 56 games after undergoing offseason hip surgery.
"It was kind of a broken play," he said. "I just wanted to direct it towards the net. I got pretty fortunate on that one."
Blues coach Craig Berube was disappointed by his team's performance.
"The first period I thought we did a good job of controlling things, cycle game, things like that," he said. "They played (Monday) night. The goal was to wear them down over time, but we didn't do that in the second. Execution wasn't good, just had no composure (Tuesday) with it, didn't see it. Power play, didn't see the plays on the power play (0-for-3). We weren't seeing a lot."
The Blues begin a stretch on Thursday in which they play five of six games on the road. Detroit has a road game in Philadelphia on Saturday before returning home next week.
