Blues Team Report

INSIDE SHOTS

The next time the Blues are on the practice ice, they might want to work on clearing the puck out of the defensive zone.

For the second time in three games, the Blues gave up the game-tying goal in the final minute.

On Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings pulled goaltender Jimmy Howard(notes) for an extra attacker, and Henrik Zetterberg(notes) scored with 57 seconds remaining. The puck went in the net after deflecting off a Blues player, and later the Wings won the shootout for a 4-3 victory.

“It was a back-handed pass from the corner of the rink, and it goes off (defenseman Barret) Jackman’s arm,” Blues coach Andy Murray said. “If it goes two inches this way, it’s going by the net and we probably get it down the ice. But it worked and those kinds of guys make those kinds of plays, I guess.”

Blues goaltender Chris Mason(notes) didn’t see the puck before it went in for Zetterberg’s 10th goal of the season.

“He threw it up high and all of the sudden, I saw (the Wings’) hands in the air,” Mason said. “That’s the way it goes. That’s what that team does … they throw it in front of the net, and when you do that, you get rewarded.”

Earlier this week, the Blues gave up the game-tying goal to the Dallas Stars with 25 seconds remaining in regulation. In that game, the Blues won the shootout.

“It’s real tough because it happened to us a couple of games ago … almost (the) same thing,” Blues defenseman Roman Polak(notes) said. “Second time, same thing, just bad luck.”

The Blues hope there isn’t a third time. The club travels to Columbus on Monday to face the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

Red Wings 4, Blues 3  (SO): The Blues coughed up a two-goal lead and blew another lead with about 11 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation, allowing Detroit to sneak out of town with a shootout win.

The Red Wings pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, and Henrik Zetterberg scored with 57 seconds remaining in regulation, tying the score 3-3.

In the fourth round of the shootout, Detroit’s Todd Bertuzzi(notes) netted the decisive goal.

The Blues, who picked up goals from C David Backes(notes), RW Brad Boyes(notes) and D Roman Polak, lost out on a bid for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

NOTES, QUOTES

• With a victory over Detroit Saturday, the Blues would have picked up their fourth straight win over the Red Wings, dating to last season. The Blues couldn’t accomplish the feat, which would have marked the first time they had knocked off the Wings in four consecutive games since 1990-91.

• The Blues lost for the first time this season when scoring three or more goals, falling to 10-0-1.

• The Blues held the Red Wings without a goal in the first period Saturday.

But Tomas Holmstrom(notes) scored his 10th goal of the season in the second period, snapping a scoreless drought that lasted 175 minutes, 57 seconds—the third-longest stretch in Detroit’s franchise history.

Quote To Note:   “Instead of (thinking) ‘I’ve got to get out of this rut,’ it’s ‘I’ve got to keep what I’ve got going … going. That brings a lot more positive play.”—Blues center David Backes, talking about a positive outlook that led to him scoring a goal and adding an assist Saturday against Detroit.

ROSTER REPORT

Goaltenders:   Chris Mason, Ty Conklin(notes).

Defensemen:   Roman Polak, Erik Johnson(notes), Darryl Sydor(notes), Mike Weaver(notes), Carlo Colaiacovo(notes), Eric Brewer(notes), Alex Pietrangelo(notes) and Barret Jackman(notes).

First Line:   David Perron(notes)-Andy McDonald-Brad Boyes.

Second Line:   Paul Kariya(notes)-David Backes-T.J. Oshie(notes).

Third Line:   Alex Steen-Jay McClement(notes)-B.J. Crombeen.

Fourth Line:   Brad Winchester(notes)-Keith Tkachuk-Cam Janssen(notes).

Player Notes:  

• C David Backes scored a goal and had an assist Saturday against Detroit.

Backes now has a goal in each of his last three games and a total of five points in that stretch. That’s more points than Backes registered in the first 21 games of the season (one goal, three assists).

• RW Brad Boyes scored his sixth goal of the season Saturday. It was his second straight game with a goal and extended his point streak to four games (two goals, two assists).

• D Erik Johnson had his five-game point streak snapped against the Red Wings. Johnson had registered two goals and three assists in five games before Saturday. He leads the Blues with 17 points, which ranks ninth among all NHL defensemen.

Medical Watch:  

• D Eric Brewer (back) missed his second straight game with a strain. He has a nasty bruise on his back stemming from a cross-check in Dallas. The team is listing him as day-to-day.

• LW D.J. King(notes) (hand) suffered a broken hand in a fight with Dallas’ Krys Barch(notes) on Oct. 24 and is expected to return before Christmas.