Words fail me as to how to describe that third period. The Blues were down 3-1 to start after a hellacious second period that they coughed up three goals in and spend half of it on the penalty kill. I’m unsure what coach Ken Hitchcock said to them during intermission, but whatever it was certainly lit a fire under their rear ends.
Alex Pietrangelo seized the moment with a power play goal 19 seconds in to the period — and two seconds into a delay of game penalty called on Edmonton’s Corey Potter. This laser beam from the point was unstoppable, and you could almost feel the frustration of the second period channeled into it.
With the Blues down just one now, the momentum shifted into their favor. It also helped that the refs either wanted to have some make-up calls or the Oilers just were frazzled. T.J. Oshie laid one of his patented big hits on Taylor Hall, causing Hall to try to retaliate against Oshie… which earned him a roughing minor.
On the resulting power play — which came just 35 seconds after Pietrangelo’s goal, David Backes redirected this shot from Petro to get past Devan Dubnyk to tie the game:
The Blues had tied it, and except for a bit of a flurry with five or so minutes left, the wind just went out of the Oilers’ sails. Matt D’Agostini decided to emphatically put a hole in those sails with this flick of the wrist that got past Dubnyk:
Tonight’s win puts the Blues at a league-best 16 wins at home. It also, enticingly, puts them just one point behind the division leading Chicago Blackhawks. Too early in the season to worry about positioning and points, but what a statement it would make for the Blues to claw their way to the top of their division at this point in the season for the first time since before the lockout.
The Blues next square off against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. This should be a tough challenge for the Blues, since Colorado has defeated them twice already this season.