It looked like the St. Louis Blues were ready to take the lead in the third period after drawing a penalty, but just 30 seconds into the Blues power play, defenseman Jaccob Slavin drew a penalty and then scored the game-winning goal on the other end. Center Sebastian Aho placed a perfect pass right on the tape of Slavin’s stick, and he calmly knocked it in to end the Blues’ playoff hopes.
Despite missing four starters — defensemen Jalen Chatfield and Brett Pesce, center Jordan Staal and left wing Teuvo Teravainen — the Carolina Hurricanes (51-22-7) put away the Blues (42-32-5) with a three-goal third period to get the 5-2 win.
Along with eliminating the Blues from the playoffs, the win puts the Hurricanes just one point behind the New York Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan division and the top of the Eastern Conference. Both squads have two games left to earn first place in the conference and potentially the Presidents’ Cup.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen continued to impress since his return from injury, stopping 30 of 32 shots, including a save of the year candidate. Late in the first period, Andersen stopped a shot but allowed a rebound that put him out of position. What looked like an easy goal for center Zach Dean was denied when Andersen dived and made a glove save that left Dean in shock with his hands over his head.
Minutes after Andersen’s spectacular save, the Blues scored on a one-timer from center Zac Bolduc. Defenseman Tony Deangelo tried to cut off the pass to Bolduc but left him open, allowing him to rip a shot past Andersen.
After a sluggish offensive start for the Canes, they answered back just over a minute later. The Blues had a breakaway opportunity but missed the net wide which allowed left wing Jordan Martinook and right wing Andrei Svechnikov to get behind the defense. Svechnikov raced with the puck past the blue line and dropped it off for Martinook who snuck the puck under goaltender Jordan Binnington’s pad to head into the first intermission tied at 1-1.
Offense came much quicker in the second period as the Blues scored on the power play just under six minutes in. A tripping penalty on left wing Brendan Lemieux set up St Louis’ center Jordan Kyrou for his 30th goal of the season. Blues’ center Brayden Schenn set a screen in front of Andersen, and the netminder never saw the puck as Kyrou sniped it under his arm.
Much like in the first period, it didn’t take long for Carolina to answer. Two and a half minutes later, center Seth Jarvis received the puck just above the blue line, used his speed to skate past one Blues defender and quickly shot the puck under the stick of another defenseman giving Binnington no time to react to tie it again at 2-2.
It was Jarvis’ 31st goal of the season as he continues his breakout season in just his third year at 22 years old. He’s become one of the Hurricanes’ most complete players and his dedication to become a two-way player has earned the trust of head coach Rod Brind’Amour. Brind’Amour can rely on Jarvis to stay on the ice longer which has led to an offensive surge for Jarvis.
Once Slavin scored in the third period to give the Canes a 3-2 lead, the Blues made numerous attempts to tie the game but came up short. With about two and a half minutes left, they pulled the goalie, but that quickly backfired as center Jake Guentzel scored two empty net goals.
The two goals extended Guentzel’s point streak to seven and gave him 30 goals on the season. Since joining the Hurricanes, Guentzel has 24 points in 16 games, quickly becoming one of the Canes’ most lethal offensive weapons.
With the playoffs just around the corner, the Hurricanes are playing their best hockey. Next, Carolina will face the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, April 14, at 6 p.m. If the Rangers lose on Saturday and the Canes beat the Blackhawks, Carolina will control its destiny for first place in the Metro.
