ST. LOUIS — Josh Manson scored at 1:42 of overtime to give the Anaheim Ducks a 3-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Sunday.
The Ducks won the opening face-off in overtime and never lost possession of the puck, and Manson drove the net and lifted a shot over Blues goalie Jordan Binnington after receiving a pass from goalie Anthony Stolarz, who got his first NHL point.
“I wasn’t expecting the shift in the overtime to be honest but when [Ducks coach Dallas Eakins] called my name, I was excited and I was thinking about what I was going to do if I felt like I was the last man back under pressure,” Manson said. “And I was like if anything happens, I’m going to throw it back to ‘Stolly.’
“Sure enough, it kind of came up the wall and it felt like I was under a bit of pressure and didn’t want to turn it over, so I just ripped it back to Stolly. They thought they could get a change, I think, because they had been out there for a bit and Stolly had the awareness to get it up to me, which was a great play.”
Stolarz made 38 saves after being recalled from the taxi squad by the Ducks (11-19-6), who swept the two-game series after a 4-1 win here Friday. It was his first NHL victory since Feb. 12, 2019, when he won 5-4 with the Philadelphia Flyers against the Minnesota Wild.
“Looking back on it all, those days of rehab and being on crutches for eight months in one year and watching all the games in Philly and just battling back, it all leads to this moment just coming back and being able to celebrate with the guys out there,” Stolarz said. “It’s a great feeling just to be out there playing again. I had some people telling me I’d never be able to step out on the NHL ice again. To be able to go out there and compete with these guys and lay it out on the line, it felt great.”
Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist, and Binnington made 21 saves for the Blues (16-13-6), who have lost four straight (0-3-1) and seven in a row at home (0-5-2).
“I definitely didn’t expect us to be in this position,” St. Louis captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “I know how good we can be and our personnel, how good it is, but this happens. I think none of us expected it, but there’s definitely growth to be had. We have to find a way out. The only way we’re going to do it is together, and if we don’t we obviously won’t be where want to. But it’s challenging for every one of us.”
The Ducks trailed 2-0 before Cam Fowler‘s goal at 8:24 of the second period cut it to 2-1.
Adam Henrique‘s backhand at 2:13 of the third period tied it 2-2.
O’Reilly gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 2:27 of the first. It was the first time they’ve scored the first goal in nine games.
Tarasenko scored six seconds into a power-play on a one-timer from inside the right circle at 15:59 to make it 2-0.
Stolarz made 15 saves in the second period.
“We need to have a win, but we just let the game slip,” Tarasenko said. “I think sometimes the last three games we play pretty well, we support each other and we have a result, but we have to find out why we can’t keep it for 60 minutes. … We’ll talk about this and take a look at our mistakes, but there is no excuses. We have to fix the home games. We lose a lot of home games, which is unacceptable. … It’s on us, and this is unacceptable.”
NOTES: Ducks forward Rickard Rakell sustained an upper-body injury in a collision with Blues forward Kyle Clifford at 13:27 of the second. Eakins said the Ducks will know more Monday, but Rakell was walking on his own power after the game. … Anaheim goalie John Gibson is day to day with an upper-body injury after he made 33 saves Friday. … Blues forward Mike Hoffman was a healthy scratch. … St. Louis defenseman Vince Dunn participated in warmups but was scratched with a lower-body injury sustained in the third period Friday. Blues coach Craig Berube said Dunn is day to day.
