Pavel Buchnevich scored in the fourth round of a shootout to lift the St. Louis Blues past the host Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 on Monday.
The Blue’s lone goal in regulation came from Kevin Hayes, acquired from the Flyers in a trade last June.
St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped 40 shots.
Scott Laughton recorded the regulation goal for the Flyers and Morgan Frost was the only Philadelphia player able to score in the shootout. Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson made 24 saves in the loss.
The Flyers — who continued to play without key injured players such as Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale – saw defenseman Cam York shoot the puck off the crossbar at 3:57 of overtime.
Sean Walker took a strong shot through traffic at 5:30 of the third period, but Binnington snared the puck out of the air.
Each team had a power play in the final 10 minutes of regulation, but Binnington and Ersson elevated their level of play with some stellar saves to send the game into overtime.
The opening 10 minutes of the first period showcased a defensive-oriented battle with very few chances on either side.
The Blues had their best opportunity at 11:46 when Buchnevich appeared to have an empty net for a tap-in. But Ersson sprawled out and somehow made the save with his left pad.
Oskar Sundqvist was whistled for hooking against Philadelphia’s Owen Tippett at 12:33 yet the Flyers couldn’t capitalize with the extra skater despite some solid offensive pressure.
The Flyers lit the lamp first at 18:52 when Ryan Poehling skated in from center ice and flipped the puck on the net. Laughton was set up in front to corral the rebound and send the puck past Binnington.
Nick Leddy fired a wrist shot at 6:26 of the second period and Jordan Kyrou had an even better chance at 7:47 but neither could get past Ersson.
Philadelphia’s Nick Seeler was called for interference at 10:13. Buchnevich ripped a slap shot during the power play but was denied by Ersson.
Hayes broke free all alone and scored through Ersson’s pads to tie the game at 1 at 15:47. It snapped a 19-game skid for Hayes without a goal.
–Field Level Media
