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03/28/24 10:43:00
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03/28 22:41 CDT Saad scores winning goal to spark Blues to 5-3 win over Flames
Saad scores winning goal to spark Blues to 5-3 win over Flames
By WARREN MAYES
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) --- Brandon Saad scored his sixth winning goal of the season,
lifting the St. Louis Blues to a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on
Thursday night.
"They just seem to be going in. I think the belief and how we're playing
confident as a group, obviously playing with some good players there," Saad
said. "Getting the opportunities and it's nice to finish them."
Pavel Buchnevich scored two goals including an empty netter while Zack Bolduc
and Jake Neighbours also scored for the Blues, who are 7-1-1 in their last nine
games. Jordan Binnington made 25 saves and also had a pair of assists to give
him seven in his career.
"We still found a way to win the hockey game and it's an important two points
for us," interim Blues coach Drew Bannister said. "Those are games maybe when
you look back, when we struggled a few weeks back on the road, we were finding
ways to lose games. We found a way to win a game here tonight."
Andrei Kuzmenko scored two goals and Jonathan Huberdeau had the other for the
Flames, who have lost five in a row and eight of their last 10 games. Dustin
Wolf made 14 saves.
"I liked the way we played tonight. It seems funny that the score ends up 5-3,"
Flames coach Ryan Huska said. "It didn't feel like it was that type of game. We
deserved a better fate here tonight."
Saad scored the go-ahead goal 2:04 into the third period, taking a pass from
Jordan Kyrou behind the net and wristing the shot past Wolf. In the Blues' last
meeting in Calgary, Saad scored a pair of goals including the winner with 48
seconds left in regulation.
"I just kind of found open ice and he (Kyrou) made a great pass to me in the
slot," Saad said.
The teams were tied 3-3 after two periods.
Neighbours put back a rebound to tie the game 2-2 at 3:27 of the second period.
It was his 26th goal this season.
"I go to the net. It was a good shot," Neighbours said. "(Robert) Thomas got a
stick on it and it bounced right to me."
Nazem Kadri took a four-minute minor for high sticking at 5:36. The Blues
cashed in when Buchnevich scored his 25th goal at 8:54, his 200th point in 207
games with the Blues.
Kuzmenko scored his second to make it a 3-3 at 16:50. Standing alone by the
net, he tipped in a shot by Kadri.
"We're trying to improve. The effort was there tonight," Kuzmenko said. "It can
be heavy going through stretches like this at this time of the year. It's
important for us to stay together as a group."
Calgary led 2-1 after the first period.
Bolduc scored at 13:02 on a backhand from in front of the net. Binnington
started the play with an outlet pass.
Calgary responded with two goals to take the lead. Kuzmenko scored an
unassisted goal at 14:48 and Huberdeau scored a power-play goal at 18:35.
"We deserved better," Huberdeau said. "We didn't give up. We played a solid
game."
UP NEXT:
Flames: Host Los Angles Kings on Saturday night.
Blues: Host San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.
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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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