VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Before a 4-3 overtime win over the Canucks, the table was set for another unpleasant meal for the Blues.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ was playing the second night of a back-to-back — just as it did back in October when Vancouver boat-raced it 5-0. The Canucks had points in nine straight games, dating back to when the Blues beat them in ºüÀêÊÓƵ on Jan. 4. The Blues had a chance to reach four games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2021-22 season, and had gone 0-11-1 in their previous attempts to do so.
Instead, the Blues delivered a victory over the NHL-leading Canucks.
Brayden Schenn scored the game-winning goal for the Blues with 3:06 left in overtime.
Jake Neighbours, Pavel Buchnevich and Alexey Toropchenko scored for the Blues, who swept a back-to-back set for the second time this season. Joel Hofer made 29 saves.
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Pius Suter scored a hat trick for Vancouver, including the game-tying goal in the game's final minute that sent it into overtime.
His first was a minute into the third period to trim the Blues' lead to 2-1. But Toropchenko responded 41 seconds later by swatting home a centering pass from Kevin Hayes.
Suter's second goal was on a Canucks power play and came when Hofer misplayed a puck at the side of the net and didn't get set in his crease in time for Suter's shot from the low slot.
Suter tied the game with the extra attacker with 52 seconds left in the game.
Neighbours keys turnaround
The Blues went nearly the first 11 minutes of the game without a shot on goal until Neighbours tested Canucks goaltender Casey DeSmith. Neighbours also had the next Blues shot on goal, which gave ºüÀêÊÓƵ a 1-0 lead.
Neighbours kept the puck in at the offensive blue line as he came off the bench, dished to Robert Thomas in the corner and sat in the slot waiting for the return pass. When it came, Neighbours one-timed a shot to the right of DeSmith for his 15th goal of the season, and third in the last six games.
Neighbours also created a chance off the rush later in the period when he stripped Andrei Kuzmenko of the puck at the ºüÀêÊÓƵ blue line to feed the Blues transition game. Schenn and Brandon Saad crashed the net on a loose puck before Kuzmenko cleared it to safety.
The Blues took a 2-0 lead when Buchnevich scored on the power play off a feed from Neighbours at the edge of the crease. It was Buchnevich’s first non-empty-net goal since Dec. 21 in Florida.
In the 13 games entering Wednesday’s game in Vancouver, Buchnevich’s only goal was an empty-netter against the Rangers on Jan. 11.
For Neighbours, it was his first NHL game with a goal and a primary assist.
Surviving the second
Thanks to Neighbours, the Blues finished the first period with a flourish. It did not carry over into the second period.
The Blues did not have a shot on goal at even-strength until Kevin Hayes’ wrist shot with 4:57 left in the period. Prior to that, the only shot the Blues mustered was Buchnevich’s shot on the power play, a four-minute power play that they failed to score on after Sammy Blais was high-sticked by Kuzmenko.
It was the sixth four-minute power play the Blues had this season and they did not score on any of them, including in Washington last week when the power play went 0 for 5.
Overall, the Blues were outshot 10-5 by Vancouver and the Canucks had a 23-15 edge in shot attempts, and that’s including the four minutes in which they were shorthanded.