Blues Lose 4-3 in Overtime to Washington

St. Louis Blues vs Washington Capitals - Game 45 Recap
Goals: Tarasenko (18), Steen (6) and Gunnarsson (4)
Record 26-16-3

My Thoughts on this game

• The Blues came out with a lot more energy than they did the previous day in Philadelphia and had a lot more sustained offensive pressure in the early going.
• The first period was played pretty evenly until the Blues took back-to-back holding penalties by Kyle Brodziak and then Carl Gunnarsson about midway through.  
• Although Washington only ranks middle of the pack on the power play at 19.6%, it's hard to stop their high powered offense for 4 minutes straight when you're playing with one less guy than them.
• The Blues managed to kill off 3 minutes and 15 seconds, but Brett Connolly somehow got his stick on a shot by Alex Ovechkin that was about 3 feet wide of the net.  His redirection left goaltender, Carter Hutton totally helpless as the puck was past him before he knew what happened.
• The second period was all Blues as they outshot the Capitals 17-6 in the period and scored twice to take a 2-1 lead. Goals by Tarasenko from the slot and Steen on a deflection accounted for the scoring. The Steen goal looked like it was Brayden Schenn's goal, but was later given to Steen on the deflection. Schenn hasn't scored since the Calgary game on December 20th. In fact, he's only scored 3 goals since linemate, Jaden Schwartz went down with his injury. 
• The Capitals didn't even manage a shot on goal in the period until the 9:31 mark. 
• In the third, another power play goal for the Capitals by Ovechkin tied the game. His one-time slap shot from close range at 300 MPH was unstoppable. 
• About 3 minutes later the Caps took the lead when Hutton's kick save fell right on the tape of Washington centerman, Lars Eller who wristed it home for a 3-2 lead.
• The Blues hung in there, until Carl Gunnarsson gave them life again at the 15:51 mark. His shot from the point with traffic in front of the net hit Ovechkin in the elbow, bounced down and past goalie, Braden Holtby. It was Carl's first goal in 27 games but his 4th of the season, matching his career high in his 8 previous years in the NHL. (5 years with Toronto and now in his 4th with the Blues)
• The game went to overtime where the Blues had some great chances but Holtby was outstanding in the net and kept his team in it until they could strike back.
• The winning goal came in the final minute of overtime. The Blues were attacking when it seemed the Parayko was slashed along the right side boards entering the offensive zone. He was separated from his stick and lost the puck. As he skated to the bench, one of the other players on the ice for St. Louis, Tarasenko decided he would go off on a line change. This left the ice wide open and a long stretch pass from TJ Oshie to a streaking Nicklas Backstrom gave him a one-on-one breakaway with Hutton. A goalie can't stop all of those kinds of shots, especially by players like Backstrom. The center ice man is nearly a point per game producer and is a +/- 120 for his career. He is currently in his 11th season in the NHL, all with the Capitals. 
• The Blues left the short two game road trip with a point, at least. They played a much better game than they had the day before in Philly. 
• One more game with the Florida Panthers at home before the bye week. 

#AllTogetherNowStL #LGB