Blues continue to find a way, rally from two down to knock off Flames 4-3 in OT

ST. LOUIS -- Sometimes, all it takes is a good talking to.

Depending on who you ask, it worked for the undermanned Blues on Tuesday.

The Blues had little to not much going against the Calgary Flames in the first of two against their opponents from Alberta, Canada, and a lot of it was the executed game plan by the Flames, who were playing a solid road game.

Down two headed into the third period, the Blues needed an adjustment. They had just come off a long four-game road trip, a yo-yo trip that took them to Toronto, then back to the U.S. in New Jersey, then back to Canada in Montreal before finishing in Minnesota ... back and forth, back and forth. That first game back off a trip, a successful 3-1-0 trip, can be a tough one.

"I didn’t feel we had our legs," coach Craig Berube said. "We didn’t push hard enough. Going into the game after the long road trip back home – a little bit worried."

With good reason, but things were said in the second intermission down two goals.

And who was doing the talking?

"Both," forward Pavel Buchnevich said, referring to players and coaches.

"It was just me," Berube said chuckling. "They don’t talk much."

Whoever it was, it worked.

The Blues struck twice with quick goals to tie it, then thought they grabbed the lead, only to have it wiped out to an offside challenge before snagging the second point on a Robert Thomas goal 28 seconds into overtime for a 4-3 win over the Flames at Enterprise Center.

So about that talk, what changed, more than anything? Simple.

"We just made too many long passes to nobody, chip and one guy forecheck and two guys hard to get the puck," Buchnevich said. "Third period I think we play more smart, make small passes and get the zone easier and get rewarded."

"We didn’t come out with speed and attacking in the first two periods," said forward Jordan Kyrou, who had a goal and two assists, including the assist on the Thomas OT goal. "Third period, that’s what we did. We started working harder and got our legs going."

It came rather quickly too.

But before that, the Flames seemed to have the battered Blues all bottled up. Their forecheck was making it tough to retrieve and transition pucks, turnovers were occurring, the Flames were making their bed in front of the Blues' net and suffocating them at times. At 3-1, even though yes, a two-goal lead is considered the worst lead in hockey, there seemed to be no indication that Calgary would fritter away this hockey game.

"But guys responded in the third period," Berube said. "I thought we played a way better period. I thought that the Pitlick-Torpo-Alexandov ... I put Acciari there later. But (those) guys really provided a lot of energy for us tonight."

Tyler Pitlick only had three hits, but boy, each was a ringing one. Alexey Toropchenko also had three hits, but he was spraying pucks into the offensive zone and his linemates were in on the hunt with him, and how about Nikita Alexandrov, who had to wait 13 games before potting his first NHL goal this past Saturday in Montreal. He got the ball rolling with a beautifully orchestrated goal 2:20 into the third to make it a 3-2 game by driving the net from outside the blue line and knocking in a rebound of Steven Santini's shot from off the right wall.

"It was a huge goal," Kyrou said. "Got the crowd going, got us going. It’s great for young guys like that to step up and score goals.

"Big goal there by Nikita. That got all the boys going, and just kept going with it."

Did they ever, and all of 28 seconds of it. Kyrou sent the Flames into a momentary tailspin when he grabbed Buchnevich's puck leave, pulled the toe-drag into the high slot and wired a wrister over the glove of Jacob Markstrom at 2:48 to tie the game and really elevate the energy level in the building.

And even when Thomas scored what he thought was the 4-3 goal at 5:37 but was called back when the Flames challenged for offside -- Kyrou was the culprit in an easy call to make -- they never wavered.

"It obviously sucks," Thomas said. "That would have been a big goal at the time, but we had the momentum after Niki's goal. We just knew if we kept sticking with it, then more chances will come and we will get another look."

And that look, the greatest look of the game came early in OT.

Justin Faulk, who finished with 26:11 ice time after playing a regular-season career-high 28:57 at Minnesota on Sunday, made the defensive play with a poke-check on Jonathan Huberdeau cutting to the net and sprung Kyrou and Thomas on a 2-on-1.

"I know what we're doing exactly, like we do all the time in practice, like how many times in the game I see that," said Buchnevich, who opened the scoring and had an assist. "Skate, skate, stop, pass, one-timer, goal, pretty simple."

Thomas would have preferred Buchnevich, like the talk in between periods, to keep things inside the locker room walls rather than give away their secrets.

"Is he giving away our move now? Looks like we've got to change it up," Thomas joked. "We kind of looked at each other going up the ice and I had a pretty good idea what (Kyrou) was planning on doing. Great play by him and I just had to get it up off the ice."

He did and sent the Blues to 4-1-0 since Ryan O'Reilly (broken foot) and Vladimir Tarasenko (hand) went down to injuries on New Year's Eve. Add Marco Scandella (hip), Scott Perunovich (shoulder) to that injury laundry list since the start of the season, now adding Torry Krug (lower body), Robert Bortuzzo (lower body), Nick Leddy (upper body) and Logan Brown (upper body) to it, the Blues are trucking along at 9-3-2 in their past 14 games and tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the final wildcard in the Western Conference.

"I think our key's been for many years now, at least since I've been here, is our depth," Thomas said. "We're getting goals from everyone and that's really important. It seems like every night someone else is stepping up. That's what in a long season it takes to be successful. That's been our keys."