ST. LOUIS — Thomas Greiss made 47 saves, and the St. Louis Blues won their fifth straight game by holding off the Washington Capitals 5-4 in a six-round shootout at the Enterprise Center on Thursday.
Ryan O’Reilly scored a goal and extended his point streak to four games, Vladimir Tarasenko had two assists and Greiss stopped five of six field goal attempts for the Blues (8-8-0), who had lost eight straight before their current streak.
Pavel Buchnevich scored in a penalty shootout in the sixth round before Greiss made the save Dylan Strome to get his first win (1-3-0) for St. Louis after signing a one-year deal on July 13.
“Take the monkey away [our] back, it’s great to win at home,” Greiss said. “It was fun. I do not know what it is [about facing a lot of shots this season], but that’s just how it goes. You have to make the most of it.”
Video: [email protected]: Buchnevich, Greiss combine for win in shootout
Blues coach Craig Berube called it a goalie win.
“Certainly,” Berube said. “We were a little gassed [from being] on the road and back [after a 5-2 victory at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday]. We got a good lead, which was important, but the goalkeeper was excellent.”
Video: [email protected]: Krug scores PPG off pass from Thomas
John Carlson scored two goals, Alexi Ovechkin scored his 789th NHL goal and provided two assists Charlie Lindgren made 20 saves for the Capitals (7-9-3), who have lost four of five and are 2-5-3 in their last 10 games.
“Obviously, the beginning is difficult,” Ovechkin said. “You go [down] 3-0 after the first, but you can see that the boys didn’t give up, they played hard. I think in the last two periods, like the last game against Florida (a 5-2 loss on Tuesday), we didn’t start well, but then we start to push and have a chance to come back and win the game.”
Video: [email protected]: Schenn’s wires on the bracelet from the circle
Carlson cut the deficit to 4-3 with a power play goal at 15:45 of the third period. He launched a one-timer from the left faceoff circle. Conor Sheary leveled the score at 4-4 at 16:57 from the pass Yevgeny Kuznetzov.
Washington almost took the lead with 2:23 left in the game Nic Dowd was hit on the puck, but after review it was determined to be a high stick. Berube said the Blues were prepared to sue for goaltender interference if it was found to be a goal.
Brayden Schenn gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead 4:56 into the first period with a wrist shot from the right circle on a 2-1 situation that beat Lindgren on the short side. Buchnevich made it 2-0 at the 7:10 mark and scored his first goal since the season opener on Oct. 15, when he was able to beat Tarasenko’s long stretch from the corner boards and beat Lindgren with a curl.
Torey Kruga power play goal from the point at 11:49 made the score 3-0.
The Capitals trailed early for a second straight game, much to the frustration of coach Peter Laviolette.
“We didn’t push enough offensively,” Laviolette said. “I don’t think we gave up a lot defensively, but we have to push more from the start. I don’t think we brought enough pucks to the net. We didn’t bring enough people to the net and I thought after the first one we took off.”
Video: [email protected]: O’Reilly lofts a sweet backhander into the net
Ovechkin made it 3-1 at 15:12 of the second period with his first goal in five games when Strome picked off Tarasenko at the right boards and fed Ovechkin alone in the slot.
Carlson broke a 3-2 tie at 17:36 with a short-handed goal in his 900th NHL game to make it 2-1 after Schenn missed a high shot.
O’Reilly made it 4-2 with a backhand at 18:02 after a high low pass. Josh Leivo.
The Capitals beat the Blues 22-3 in the third and 18-9 in the second.
“We just sat back and turned pucks around,” Schenn said. “Didn’t close out games defensively and forced us to play a lot of time in our own head.
“That’s what happens. You’re giving up 50 shots, you probably aren’t [playing] tough enough defense, and the guys that are there, they have a lot of skill. They make the most of it. And we trusted our goalkeeper too much.”
NOTE: Ovechkin tied Bryan Trottier for 18th all-time in the NHL (1,425). He has 34 points (19 goals, 15 assists) in 23 games against St.Louis. … Strome had two assists to give him nine points (one goal, eight assists) in nine games against the Blues. … Carlson has three goals and two assists in past four games. … St. Louis is 5-0-1 in its last six games against Washington. … Tarasenko has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 12 games against the Capitals. … O’Reilly has six points (three goals, three assists) on his streak.
