Blues muster little offense during 4-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club
The Blues understood that losing key players to injury would shift their style of play. But they still need to generate some offense to survive.
During a 4-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night, the Blues failed to threaten much in the offensive zone. They had 10 shots on goal through two periods. It took them until after the first television timeout of the night to put a puck on net. They went the final 10:05 of the second period without a shot on goal. St. Louis finished with 15 shots.
Jordan Kyrou tied the game at 2 with 6:31 left in the third period, slapping a one-timer from the slot on a skilled setup by Pavel Buchnevich, who stick-handled through the Utah defense. But Dylan Guenther scored the game-winning goal off a Kyrou turnover with 3:21 left in the third period for Utah.
It was the second time in the last four games that a Kyrou turnover became the game-winning goal for the opposition.
Matias Maccelli scored for Utah with 1:51 left in the second period on an unscreened shot from the top of the right circle that gave it a 2-1 lead. Michael Kesselring and Jack McBain (empty-netter) also scored for Utah, which was making its first trip to St. Louis since the Coyotes left Arizona.
Colton Parayko also scored for the Blues and Joel Hofer made 27 saves.
The Blues play the fourth game of a five-game home stand on Saturday against Washington.
Offensive force?
When Parayko scored with 1:19 remaining in the first period to tie the game at 1, he tallied his fourth goal of the season. That tied him with Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, Jake Neighbours and Dylan Holloway for the team lead in goals. Entering Thursday, Colorado's Cale Makar was the only defenseman in the NHL with five goals.
Parayko finished a Blues rush chance that was created by Neighbours' work in the defensive zone by tipping a pass into the corner and then leading the break through the neutral zone. Neighbours kicked the puck out to Buchnevich as he entered the zone, and Paryako filled the middle lane.
As Parayko carried into the slot, Holloway opened up for a one-timer in the right circle. That drew the attention of Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, and opened a shooting lane for Parayko. Parayko has scored 10 goals in a season three times in his career, including last year, but never more than that.
The goal was also Parayko's ninth point of the season in the 14th game of the season. Last season, it took him until game No. 28 to reach that mark. His career-high for points is 35, also done three times and most recently in 2021-22.
A fight and an ejection
Twenty-nine seconds into the second period, Utah defenseman Maveric Lamoureux hit Alexey Toropchenko in a left knee on left knee collision inside the Utah zone. Blues defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph immediately stepped into fight Lamoureux in Joseph's first career fight.
Lamoureux was assessed a major penalty for kneeing, and the automatic game misconduct that comes with a major penalty. He was also given five minutes for fighting. Joseph, meanwhile, earned two for instigating, five for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct. The 10-minute misconduct is automatic when called for instigating.
The Blues ended up with three minutes of power play time, but didn't have a shot on goal.
Because of the sequence, both teams weredown to five defensemen for most of the second period. Joseph was released from the box with less than two minutes remaining in the period, while Lamoureux's night was over.
After one fight in the first 11 games of the season, Joseph's was the Blues' third in the last three games. Brayden Schenn and Buchnevich each had a fight in the win over the Maple Leafs.
Six in a row
For the sixth straight game, the Blues allowed the opposition to score the game's first goal, and this time it happened 18 seconds into the game, the fastest goal this season in the NHL. Utah defenseman Michael Kesselring joined the rush, and fumbled his way to sliding the puck between Joel Hofer's pads.
Kesselring beat Holloway to the Blues net, and received a flip pass from the red line from Clayton Keller. Kesselring looked to be attempting a move on Hofer, but the puck instead tapped off the toe of his stick and into the back of the net.
In 14 games this season, the Blues have trailed first in 10 of them. Entering Thursday, only Seattle had allowed the first goal more often than St. Louis.
Holloway in, Bortuzzo out
Holloway was back in the Blues lineup two nights after he was hospitalized when he was hit in the neck with a puck. He skated Thursday morning, and was a game-time decision, according to Blues coach Drew Bannister.
The Blues honored former defenseman Robert Bortuzzo on Thursday night in his first visit back to St. Louis since the team traded him last season. Bortuzzo played parts of 10 seasons with the Blues, and was a healthy scratch for Utah on Thursday.
Hockey reporter
