Ducks Vs. Blues Final Score: Blues Dominate Third Period, Win 3-1

It’s become nice to watch a Blues game and not feel horribly worried going into the third period; fans don’t have to be arrogant, but confident that the Blues can pull one out. That’s exactly what they did tonight, helping them get to 93 points for the first time in over a decade.

Patrik Berglund scored what would be the game winning goal at 4:47 of the third period, but frankly 95% of this goal was one perfect pass from Andy McDonald. McDonald is absolutely lethal on-ice, and he was very much creating chances all game long tonight.

David Backes looked to have deflected his second of the night a little over ten minutes later off of a Kevin Shattenkirk slapper, but the goal was awarded to Shattenkirk due to the fact that the puck deflected in off of Sheldon Brookbank’s stick, not Backes’. It was the Blues’ second power play goal of the night; they were two for four with the one man advantage.

Last period shots were actually in the Ducks’ favor, 10-7. They pressed, because every point is so important to their playoff push. They didn’t get two tonight, but Jaroslav Halak’s 26 saves helped the Blues move to first in the NHL by themselves. A former Blues goaltender, Ben Bishop, was in net as the Ottawa Senators knocked off the New York Rangers 4-2, so the Blues are, for right now, the best in the League.

Ducks Vs. Blues Second Period Score: Tied At 1-1 After Two Periods

The pace of the game has decidedly picked up a tad. A little over four minutes into the period, Corey Perry was gifted a goal thanks to a bit of a gaffe by Carlo Colaiacovo, who pinched the wrong player along the boards:

You can’t let Perry wander in like that — he’ll make you pay every time.

Another person that you can’t let alone on the ice is Blues’ captain David Backes, who scored his 20th goal of the season. The Ducks, on a penalty kill created by a Bobby Ryan high stick on Ian Cole, decided to let David Backes camp out in front of Jonas Hiller. That would be the definition of something called a “mistake.”

As Backes put it during the intermission interview, he just kind of closed his eyes and deflected it in five-hole. If he’s that dangerous with his eyes shut, imagine what he can do with them open.

The shots on goal that period were a bit more even at 11 to 10 in favor of the Blues, but St. Louis still holds the shot advantage by five at 20-15.

Ducks Vs. Blues First Period Score: Scoreless First, Blues 0 For 2 On Power Play

You can tell watching that period how much that the Ducks really want to get into the playoffs. They pressed that whole period, but managed just five shots on net. It wasn’t necessarily due to lack of effort, either — it was due to the Blues’ presence of mind to intercept passes and to make life difficult for Anaheim in their own zone. David Backes and T.J. Oshie especially worked very hard to muscle the puck away from the Anaheim forwards to create rushes and scoring chances for the Blues.

The Blues had several good looks on net — and two power plays to add to that — but managed just nine shots on goal. Obviously, none went in, but if the pucks would have been easier for them to corral, Andy McDonald and T.J. Oshie would both be on the board right now.

Ducks Vs. Blues: Anaheim's Clawing To Get Into The Playoffs, Blues Can Stay On Top Of Western Conference

The Ducks have stumbled a bit on the road recently, and Scottrade Center isn't exactly the easiest place for visiting teams to play. The last time these two teams met, St. Louis walked away the victor, 4-2.