The Blues edged closer to the playoff bracket by gaining a loser point Saturday night.
They suffered a 4-3 shootout loss to the Kraken Saturday night in Seattle, extending their winless streak to three games. But that point allowed them to keep control of their playoff fate.
The Blues (43-30-8) have 94 points just one game left, at home Tuesday night against the Utah Hockey Club. They could go into that game with their spot secured, should the Calgary Flames lose to San Jose Sunday.
If the Flames win again, the Blues could clinch their berth with a regulation win.
By going 3-0-2 in their last five games, the Flames stayed alive in the Western Conference wild card chase. The Flames (38-27-15) have 90 points, with three games to play: at home against the Sharks Sunday and the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday, then at the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
The Blues have the tiebreaker edge over Calgary.
The Minnesota Wild (44-30-7) have 95 points after defeating the Canucks 3-2 Saturday night in Vancouver. They have one game left, at home to the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday night.
The Wild would have the tiebreaker edge on the Blues.
Parayko returns, Broberg misses game
Defenseman Philip Broberg returned to St. Louis to address a personal issue, so Colton Parayko’s return from his knee injury was timely. Parayko had been sidelined since March 5, missing 17 games.
Parayko jumped back onto the top pairing with Cam Fowler. Nick Leddy and Justin Faulk started as the second pairing and Ryan Suter remained with Tyler Tucker.
Also, coach Jim Montgomery plugged third-line winger Mathieu Joseph back into the lineup in place of rookie Dalibor Dvorsky. Montgomery opened with Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou flanking Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn centering Jake Neighbours and Jimmy Snuggerud.
That alignment generated just three shots during the scoreless first period. The most notable Blues opportunity came when Kyrou made a slick spin move to get to the front of the net.
But Seattle got the best chances in the first 20 minutes, with Brandon Montour and Shane Wright testing Jordan Binnington during a power play.
Blues perk up, but Kraken take lead
The Blues outshot Seattle 9-5 in the second period, but they fell behind 1-0.
Former Blues winger Jaden Schwartz converted a 2-on-1 break to put the Kraken up 1-0 3:44 into the second period. Leddy, the lone defenseman, dove along the ice to take away Schwartz cross-ice passing lane.
But the puck caromed right back to Schwartz, who scored into the open right side of the net.
The Blues were especially dangerous on the power play late in the period, but Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer made two stops on Bolduc — one on a shot from the high slot, one on a point-blank shot in front of the net.
Parayko makes big impact
Just 66 seconds in the third period, the Blues’ fourth line tied the game 1-1. Leddy shot the puck, Nathan Walker redirected it and Radek Faksa converted the carom at the right post.
Montgomery flipped Neighbours and Buchnevich on the top two lines, looking to generate more offense. Also, Fowler missed time after getting hit in the face by the puck, forcing Montgomery to shuffle pairings.
And the game opened up with rapid-fire goals.
Seattle moved ahead 2-1 when Tye Kartye fired a shot from the right wing and Michael Eyssimont converted the long rebound to the left wing.
Parayko tied the game 2-2 by coming down the middle and working a give-and-go play with Thomas off the rush.
Leddy put the Blues up 3-2 with a slap shot from straight away, set up bu Bolduc, but Shane Wright tied the game 3-3 by driving the net and redirecting Jamie Oleksiak’s pass into the net with his skate.
That sent the game into over, then the shootout.
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