Recap: Penalty Killing Woes Cost Ducks in 4-2 Loss to Blues

The Ducks could not capitalize on an early lead in tonight's road trip finale as a trio of third period power-play goals would prove the difference in a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.

NHL GAMECENTER | DUCKS STREAM

Anaheim's sixth consecutive setback dropped the club to 23-42-3 on the season and capped a four-game midwestern road trip at 0-4-0.

Troy Terry scored both goals for Anaheim, his 18th and 19th of the season. Leo Carlsson, Alex Killorn, Pavel Mintyukov, Jackson LaCombe recorded assists. Lukas Dostal made 23 saves.

Robert Thomas scored twice for the Blues, part of an early third-period surge propelled by three consecutive minor penalties against the Ducks. Jake Neighbours and Kevin Hayes also scored. Pavel Buchnevich had three assists. Joel Hofer earned his 16th NHL win between the pipes with saves on 26-of-28 Anaheim shots.

Terry gave Anaheim the evening's first lead on the only goal of the opening period, a rebound chance from the low slot that the winger swiped through Hofer's five-hole.

The goal was Terry's 18th of the season, second among team leaders, and the 93rd of his NHL career. Terry also ranks second on the team in scoring, now three points shy of his third consecutive 50-point season.

Despite missing 11 games with a separated shoulder, Mintyukov ranks fourth among NHL rookies in assists (23) this season. 

Anaheim killed three St. Louis power plays in the first period.

One of the NHL's best teams when scoring the game's first goal, St. Louis improved to to 8-26-2 on the season when trailing first.

St. Louis would tie the game late in the second period when Torey Krug's point shot bounced out of Dostal's glove and right to Hayes at the backdoor.

Terry nearly restored Anaheim's lead with a power-play goal in the dying moments of the middle frame, lifting a high wrister on net off a centering pass from Carlsson, but the shot off Hofer's shoulder floated onto the top of the net and the play was whistled dead.

Hofer made one more big stop on the subsequent faceoff, preserving the 1-1 score after 40 minutes with a left pad stop.

Instead it would be the Blues converting three times on the man advantage in the third period, with Thomas and Neighbours right in the middle of all three. 

Thomas first gave St. Louis the lead less than two minutes into the third, beating Dostal over the glove with a bullet of a shot from the top of the right circle.

One of just 17 NHLers with at least 50 assists this season, Thomas leads the Blues in points, assists and power-play points. The 24-year-old recorded his 300th career NHL point last night vs. Minnesota.

Neighbours made it 3-1 a few shifts later with a netfront tip of Schenn's shot off left wing.

Thomas then netted St. Louis' third power-play goal in less than eight minutes with a low wrister from the right dot that hit off defenseman Jackson LaCombe's stick on its way into the net.

Buchnevich assisted on all three power-play goals for his seventh three-point game of the season. 

Terry scored his second of the night in the final minute of regulation, converting a cross-seam pass from Killorn past a sprawled Hofer.

The Ducks begin a three-game homestand Tuesday against Minnesota.