Joel Edmundson sends Blues past Ducks

ST. LOUIS -- Joel Edmundson scored with 20 seconds remaining in the third period to give the St. Louis Blues a 4-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Scottrade Center on Friday.
Edmundson took a pass from Robert Bortuzzo and put a wrist shot past John Gibson.
"Me and Bortuzzo did a little regrouping," Edmundson said. "He rushed it all the way down to the corner and we made eye contact. He just sauced it across the ice and I was lucky enough to bury it."

Paul Stastny and Vladimir Tarasenko each had a goal and assist, and Jake Allen made 23 saves for the Blues (34-27-5), who won their third straight. St. Louis moved three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference and two points behind the Nashville Predators for third place in the Central Division.
WATCH: All Ducks vs. Blues highlights
"We knew that we needed everybody tonight," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "There was parts of our game as far as coming back home were better, there was parts of our game that still we can improve on, some of the mistakes, some of the areas were going good and then we had a little bit of a letdown or we get a little casual with our play. I thought we did a much better job getting to the net, getting pucks to the net tonight. I thought we were tougher to defend in that area."

Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist, and Chris Wagner and Jakob Silfverberg scored for the Ducks (35-23-10). Gibson, who missed six games with a lower-body injury and was not expected to play, made 31 saves.
"To lose the game with under 20 seconds to go (19.8), it's very disappointing on the road," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We battled back in the hockey game, and coming off a back-to-back where [Thursday] night in (a 1-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks) and coming in here, this is going to be a tough game. So that's extremely disappointing. We didn't really get any reward. Even a point would have been a big difference immensely for us."

Tarasenko scored 12 seconds into the first period to give the Blues a 1-0 lead on a quick snap shot past a screened Gibson.
Rakell tied it 1-1 at 11:59 on a play that needed video review. The Ducks successfully challenged that there was no goaltender interference after the initial call of no goal.
Anaheim took a 2-1 lead at 18:12 after Jared Boll's pass deflected in off Wagner's skate.

Ryan Reaves tied it 2-2 off a rebound of a shot by Jaden Schwartz at 4:17 of the second period.
Stastny scored 25 seconds into the third period to put the Blues on top 3-2, but Silfverberg's power-play goal at 9:24 tied it 3-3.

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Goal of the game

Stastny made a nice cut to the middle of the ice before sliding a shot past Gibson.

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Save of the game

Gibson denied Schwartz with a glove save on a shot from the slot with 1:30 remaining in the second period.

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Highlight of the game

The Ducks worked the puck from their end of the ice to set up Wagner's goal, making crisp passes and exposing the Blues' loose coverage.

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Unsung performance of the game

Not only did Reaves score at the end of a shift, he worked to get a penalty shot. Reaves played 12:56 and had three shots on goal and two hits.
"The crowd was too loud, I was going to do the 'Peyton Manning' quiet down. There was too much going on for me, that's not my element," Reaves said of his failed third-period penalty shot.

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They said it

"I think I just saw some space. I think [Stastny] was yelling, 'Skate it!' as opposed to just ripping it up to a guy standing still. So I took the ice and we were able to squeak by and make a play."-- Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo on the game-winning goal
"It was a tough game. I thought we played hard the whole game but we've got to make sure that we're ready at the start of periods and at the end of the games."-- Ducks forward Rickard Rakell

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Need to know

With Gibson healthy, the Ducks reassigned goalie Jhonas Enroth to San Diego of the American Hockey League. ... Blues defenseman Colton Parayko missed the third period with an undisclosed injury and Yeo said he is questionable to play against the New York Islanders on Saturday. ... Blues center Jori Lehtera was hit in the face with a puck late in the third period but returned.

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What's next

Ducks: Host the Washington Capitals on Sunday (9:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, PRIME, CSN-DC, NHL.TV)
Blues: Host the New York Islanders on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-MW, MSG+, NHL.TV)