ST. LOUIS – Matthew Tkachuk scored the go-ahead goal with 12 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Thursday.
Sam Reinhart, who will represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off from Feb. 12-20, collected his own rebound in the slot and snapped it toward the net, which Tkachuk then deflected under the right arm of Joel Hofer.
“I had a good look there and the puck was able to come back to me,” Reinhart said. “I was just trying to stick with it. It was a heavy, tight-checking game right from the beginning. We kind of figured it was going to be a bounce like that that was going to tilt it in someone’s direction. We were able to stick with it and pull through.”
FLA@STL: Tkachuk grabs the lead late in the 3rd
Hofer said he saw the play and took blame for the goal.
“It was a tough play obviously,” he said. “Hit a couple shin pads and went onto a stick. I’ve got to make a save.”
Reinhart’s initial shot was blocked by Blues defenseman Colton Parayko, who will represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“We were in the right spots defensively,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. “The first shot, hit the guy right in front of him. I would like Reinhart to be hit after that, but we turned and looked for the puck and he found it and made us pay.”
Tkachuk, who will represent the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off, extended his goal streak to five games with two goals and an assist, and Mackie Samoskevich also scored for the Panthers (33-20-3), who have won four of five. Spencer Knight made 20 saves and Aleksander Barkov, who will represent Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off, had two assists.
“We (pushed) pretty good,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We gave up two shots in the third period, I think, or pretty close to it, so that’s right for us. I don’t think we generated a ton, but that’s alright.”
Bolduc, Sundqvist and Montgomery after loss at home vs. the Panthers.
Zack Bolduc and Oskar Sundqvist scored for the Blues (24-26-5), who are 1-5-1 in their past seven games. Hofer made 31 saves.
“Yeah, for sure, 11 seconds left in the game, it’s hard,” Bolduc said. “I think we battled well during the game and we had our chances there to score some goals and make the difference, but sometimes it (ends) like this.”
Bolduc put St. Louis ahead 1-0 at 3:31 of the first period on a backhand rebound in the slot of Ryan Suter’s one-timer from the left point.
Samoskevich tied it 1-1 at 7:09, getting a piece of Sam Bennett’s one-timer from the left circle after Tkachuk found him on a cross-seam pass.
Tkachuk made it 2-1 with a power-play goal at 16:54 on a deflection of Aaron Ekblad’s right point shot.
“He can pick the times (to score),” Maurice said of Tkachuk. “… He’s on a roll, so keep that going for a while for us.”
Sundqvist tied it 2-2 on the power play at 5:18 of the second period when he tipped a Robert Thomas shot from the top of the right circle.
FLA@STL: Sundqvist scores goal against Spencer Knight
“I’ve been telling ‘Tommer’ we’re going to connect on one of all these chances he’s been giving me,” Sundqvist said. It’s good to see it go in.
“… It (stinks to lose) obviously. Eleven seconds left. I think we played a good game overall, especially second period. I feel like we should have come out of that period with one or two goals up. But that’s hockey. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t.”
NOTES: Tkachuk has 10 points (six goals, four assists) during his point streak and 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 20 games against St. Louis. … Barkov has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in a five-game point streak, and Reinhart has eight points (two goals, six assists) in a five-game point streak. … Thomas has an assist in three straight games after no points the previous three. … Blues defenseman Ryan Suter played in his 1,499th NHL game, tying Mike Modano for 22nd all-time. … Samoskevich, who returned after missing three games with illness, left in the second period with an upper-body injury. Maurice said after the game the forward will be looked at Saturday.
