Faceoff Violation Penalty Helps Blues Beat Sharks 5-2
SAN JOSE (AP) — Ryan O'Reilly snapped a third-period tie 12 seconds after San Jose was penalized for a faceoff violation, Jordan Kyrou scored twice and the St. Louis Blues beat the Sharks 5-2 on Saturday night.
"It's something that happens," O'Reilly said of the violation. "I've been on the other end of it. It's annoying but it's the rule. We took advantage of the bounce. ... We got a big goal and take over the game there."
St. Louis capitalized after a penalty that drew the ire of Sharks coach Bob Boughner. O'Reilly won the offensive-zone draw and then got the puck back in the circle, where he beat Devan Dubnyk 4:22 into the third to make it 3-2.
Boughner didn't calm down much after the game and said it was a "horrible call."
"It's ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous," he said. "Everybody in the rink including their team, our team, the other linesmen and refs. It was a brutal, brutal call that turned the whole game around. ... It's ridiculous. I haven't seen that call in I don't know how long. That one hurts."
San Jose's Patrick Marleau said he thought it was a clean draw, but the linesman believed he turned too early.
"I saw it one way and I guess the linesman saw it another," Marleau said. "It changed the game."
Kyrou added his second goal of the game late in the period and David Perron scored an empty-netter to give the Blues a sweep of the back-to-back set after arriving in San Jose on a five-game losing streak.
Vince Dunn also scored, and Perron and O'Reilly each had three assists. Ville Husso made 29 saves.
The line of O'Reilly, Kyrou and Perron finished with four goals and seven assists.
"After getting on the board early you could tell we had a bit more confidence, kept working and got some huge goals for us," O'Reilly said. "It's nice to contribute."
Dylan Gambrell and Tomas Hertl scored for the Sharks, who have lost three straight following a season-high three-game winning streak. Dubnyk made 16 saves.
The final meeting of the regular season between these teams was the first of the eight games decided by more than one goal. The Blues won five of the eight games.
The Sharks got on the board first when Husso was unable to control the rebound of Brent Burns' shot from the slot. Burns got to the loose puck and fed Gambrell. He beat a scrambling Husso, who was without his stick, to make it 1-0.
The Blues answered 69 seconds later when Dunn's point shot that was heading wide hit defenseman Erik Karlsson and deflected in.
Kyrou added his ninth goal of the season later in the first and the Blues appeared to take control on a goal by Mike Hoffman. But the Sharks challenged the entry into the zone and the officials wiped away the goal because Sammy Blais was offside.
San Jose tied it in the second when the Blues left Hertl all alone to beat Husso.
SIDELINED
Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. Sundqvist was hurt in the first period Friday when he collided with teammate Kyle Clifford. He has four goals and five assists in 28 games this season.
"It's a tough loss, for sure," coach Craig Berube said before the game. "We're going to miss him. ... Everybody just has to pick up the slack, that's all you can do. It's unfortunate. It's tough news for Sunny and us, obviously."
The Blues were also down two more forwards, with Zach Sanford being placed on the NHL COVID-19 list and Tyler Bozak out with an upper-body injury.
Sharks forward Matt Nieto sat out with a lower-body injury and is day to day.
UP NEXT
Blues: Visit the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night.
Sharks: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
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