Brayden Schenn scored twice and Alexey Toropchenko collected a goal and an assist to lead the visiting St. Louis Blues to a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
Zack Bolduc also scored for the Blues, who are riding a 7-1-1 run that has them just outside a Western Conference playoff position. Cam Fowler, in his return to Anaheim, where he spent parts of 15 seasons before being traded to St. Louis earlier this season, collected two assists.
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington made 20 saves.
Frank Vatrano produced a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who took their third loss in four games. Sam Colangelo and Alex Killorn also scored, and Troy Terry notched two assists.
Goalie Lukas Dostal stopped 18 shots for Anaheim, which was without No. 1 goalie John Gibson after he sustained a lower-body injury in a loss at Vancouver on Wednesday.
Toropchenko provided the Blues a much-desired early boost when he opened the scoring at the 2:37 mark, netting his second goal of the season and first in 51 games. His long shot handcuffed Dostal.
Colangelo’s power-play goal tied the clash at 14:48 of the first, a deflection of Jackson LaCombe’s point shot from just inside the blue line for his third goal in as many outings.
Schenn restored the St. Louis lead just past the midway point of the second period when he finished a three-way passing play setup by an Anaheim turnover in the defensive zone.
Bolduc extended the St. Louis edge to 3-1 at 5:21 of the third period. He buried a breakaway opportunity created when he took a pass from Fowler at full speed and split the pair of defenders.
Vatrano pulled the hosts within 3-2 with 3:02 remaining when he benefited from a Blues defensive-zone turnover and ripped a top-shelf shot from the slot.
Schenn restored his team’s two-goal edge with an empty-net goal 75 seconds later, which held up as the game-winner after Killorn rounded out the scoring by finishing a scramble with 43 seconds on the clock.
Anaheim pushed frantically for the equalizer, and a potential game-tying goal went over the line a split second after time expired.
–Field Level Media
