Recap: Ducks Comeback Bid Falls Short in 4-3 Loss to Blues

Sam Colangelo scored for the third straight game but the Ducks could not complete a furious third-period comeback tonight in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Honda Center.

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The loss dropped to 27-28-7 on the season, six points back of a playoff position.

Colangelo, Frank Vatrano and Alex Killorn provided the Anaheim offense, the latter two each bringing the Ducks back within one in the final minutes of regulation. Troy Terry collected two assists. Lukas Dostal made 18 saves.

Captain Brayden Schenn scored twice for the Blues, who improved to 31-27-6 with their sixth win in the club's last seven games and moved into a tie with Calgary for the final Western Conference Wild Card bid. Zack Bolduc and Alexey Toropchenko also scored while veteran netminder Jordan Binnington earned his 20th win of the season with stops on 20-of-23 Anaheim attempts.

Tonight's game also marked the first return to Orange County for longtime Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler following his December trade to St. Louis. Fowler left the club as its all-time leader in games played, points and assists by a defenseman. The Ducks surprised the fan favorite blueliner with a special ceremony pregame, gifting him a painting depicting his decorated tenure with the team and personally thanking him for his impact in the community.

Fowler was also honored during a first-period timeout and received a rousing standing ovation from the Ducks faithful inside Honda Center.

Both sides traded early goals in a back-and-forth first period, with Anaheim responding to an early deficit with a well-executed power play.

Toropchenko briefly put the Blues ahead first with a shot through an Anaheim defender off the rush, sneaking his bid under Dostal's glove and just over the goal line.

Fowler recorded an assist on the goal, his first of two on the night.

Anaheim evened the score 12 minutes later on a point shot by Jackson LaCombe tipped home by Colangelo while fighting off a St. Louis check in the low slot.

Colangelo has scored in three straight games and now owns four goals and five points in 17 outings this season. The 23-year-old also scored 19 goals in 38 games with the San Diego Gulls, earning an AHL All-Star nod. LaCombe pushed his scoring streak to a career-best seven games with the helper.

St. Louis would go back ahead midway through the second though, capitalizing on an Anaheim defensive zone turnover on a backdoor pass from former Oiler Dylan Holloway to Schenn in tight.

Acquired from Edmonton via an offer sheet as a restricted free agent last summer, Holloway has collected 47 points so far in his first season with St. Louis - more than double his total from his first two NHL campaigns combined.

Bolduc added what eventually proved to be a crucial insurance marker early in the third period, lifting a shot up over Dostal on a breakaway.

It then appeared St. Louis would maintain that 3-1 lead for the remainder of the night until the last three minutes of the game, when the Ducks twice got back within one and nearly tied the game in the final seconds of regulation.

Vatrano first cut the deficit to 3-2 with a shot off the rush, taking a drop pass from Terry in the high slot and beating Binnington to the blocker side through traffic.

Vatrano has collected five points in his last five games and now ranks second among team leaders with 38 points in 61 games this season, including a club-best 19 goals.

Killorn scored shortly after, answering a St. Louis empty-netter by punching home a rebound from the low slot and again giving the Ducks a chance at a dramatic equalizer.

The goal was Killorn's 13th of the season and second in the last three games.

Anaheim then appeared to pull even right as the horn sounded, as McTavish too converted a rebound chance from the low slot, but a review clearly showed the clock had run out before the puck crossed the line, clinching a 4-3 win for St. Louis.

The Ducks continue a three-game homestand Sunday against the Islanders.