Blues 5, Wild 4 (OT)
ST. LOUIS -- There's something about playing at home which brings out the best in the St. Louis Blues.
Vladimir Sobotka scored 2:16 into overtime to give the Blues their third win in as many games at home this season, a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Wild.
Sobotka scored off a pass from Andy McDonald to cap a rally which saw the Blues come back from a 3-1 deficit midway through the game.
Dating back to the start of the 2011-12 season, the Blues are an NHL-best 33-6-5 at Scottrade Center.
The Wild trailed 1-0 after the first period but scored three goals, on only four shots on goal, in taking a 3-1 advantage through two periods. Minnesota had scored only three power-play goals in 21 attempts in their first four games before Zach Parise scored just 2:04 into the second period, the first goal the Blues had allowed in three home games this season.
Parise's second goal of the game, and his fifth in as many games this season, also came on the power-play at 10:52 of the period. Parise has scored at least one point in all of the Wild's games this season.
The third Minnesota goal was credited to Nikko Koivu after a video review.
The Blues, who had taken the early lead on Wade Redden's second goal in two nights, cut the margin to 3-2 on Patrick Berglund's goal with 4:22 left in the second period.
St. Louis, which had scored seven power-play goals in 16 attempts coming into the game, the best percentage in the NHL, was blanked on four opportunities with a man advantage by Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom, including three in the final period, before Chris Stewart deflected a shot by Alex Pietrangelo at 11:29, his fourth goal of the year, to tie the game.
Barret Jackman's first goal of the year broke the tie just 2:18 later, but the Wild responded with a goal by Dany Heatley with just 4:08 to play to once again tie the game at 4-4.
NOTES: All of the Blues wore No. 6 jerseys during the pre-game skate in honor of former Cardinal Stan Musial, whose funeral was Saturday. The jerseys will be auctioned off for charity. ... The Blues played the second of their 10 back-to-back games scheduled this season, having won at Dallas 4-3 on Saturday night. ... The Wild recalled defenseman Marco Scandella from Houston of the AHL and reassigned defenseman Mathew Dumba to Red Deer of the junior Western Hockey League. Dumba had been a healthy scratch for the Wild in their first four games of the season.
