ST. LOUIS — Ryan O’Reilly and Jordan Kyrou each scored a power-play goal in the final 47 seconds of the third period to lift the St. Louis Blues to a 2-1 win against the Dallas Stars at Enterprise Center on Sunday.
Kyrou gave the Blues a 2-1 lead with 29 seconds left when his centering pass to Robert Thomas caromed off Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa‘s right leg.
“Honestly, I was trying to pass to ‘Tommer’ there backdoor, and I just got a lucky bounce and it went in,” Kyrou said. “That was definitely really fun to be a part of. Doesn’t happen too often when you come back last couple minutes. It was pretty electric out there. It was fun. It was a great win by us too.”
Jordan Binnington made 26 saves for the Blues (21-10-5), who are 11-0-1 their past 12 home games, matching the third-longest streak in their history, last accomplished Jan. 6-Feb. 26, 2001 (9-0-3). St. Louis is 9-2-1 in its past 12 games.
It was the first time in Blues history they won in regulation after trailing with one minute remaining, and the 11th time in NHL history.
“The first two periods I thought there wasn’t a ton of energy,” coach Craig Berube said. “We weren’t winning enough puck battles. I thought they did a good job of clogging things up, being tight on us, not giving us any room. But we didn’t want to compete through that. We kind of allowed it to happen more than anything.
“We needed to get on our toes and start skating and start winning puck battles and doing things right. Guys did a good job responding. I thought we had a real good third period going. We took the penalty late, killed it off. Special teams were really good tonight, [and] that’s the difference in the game.”
Jason Robertson scored, and Braden Holtby made 29 saves for the Stars (17-13-2), who had their four-game winning streak end. Dallas has lost its past five on the road, including two straight to St. Louis.
“It definitely wasn’t the result we wanted, but I think [Stars coach Rick Bowness] told us that was almost a perfect road game for us,” Robertson said. “We had a bunch of chances and we tried to limit their chances. It’s just hockey at the end of the game.”
O’Reilly tied it 1-1 with 47 seconds remaining when he scored on a rebound in the slot. After the Blues pulled Binnington for a 6-on-4 advantage, Torey Krug‘s shot caromed off the end boards, past St. Louis forward Brayden Schenn to O’Reilly for the goal past a sprawled-out Holtby.
“It was mayhem. … It was a little bit chaotic,” O’Reilly said. “But I thought we had a good third period. We had some good chances, and it took us right down to the wire to tie the game up, but yeah, there was pucks and bodies everywhere and obviously, we get a good bounce and in the back of the net to tie it up. Yeah, it was good.”
Robertson scored off a rebound at 9:16 of the second period to give Dallas a 1-0 lead.
The Stars thought they were in good shape late in the third period, and Holtby was on his way to his 36th NHL shutout and first in the regular season since March 8, 2019. However, Hakanpaa was called for hooking with 1:52 remaining, leading to O’Reilly’s goal. Prior to the tying goal, a delayed penalty was called on Miro Heiskanen for slashing Kyrou, which led to the subsequent Blues power play.
“It’s frustrating and it (stinks),” Heiskanen said. “I thought we played really well, and they tied it. It [stinks].
“I think we played really well today and that’s what we need to keep doing. It’s frustrating, but I think it was a good game by us.”
NOTES: Kyrou also had an assist and has scored 11 points (five goals, six assists) during a five-game point streak. … Robertson has a seven-game point streak (four goals, six assists) and has scored 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in the past 16 games. … Stars forward Joe Pavelski extended his point streak to six games with an assist (nine points; four goals, five assists). … St. Louis joined the Colorado Avalanche (12-0-1; active) as the second NHL team with a home point streak of at least 12 games this season. … The Blues won three of four games against the Stars this season, outscoring them 11-7. … They are 7-1-1 their past nine games against the Stars, including 4-0-1 at home. … St. Louis forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defensemen Scott Perunovich and Jake Walman each missed his second straight game in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
