Blue Jackets defeat Blues in OT on Werenski power-play goal

COLUMBUS -- Zach Werenski scored on the power play with 1:26 left in overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 3-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues at Nationwide Arena on Friday.

"We got some shots, got some chances, and I was happy to score one there," said Werenski, who beat goalie Jake Allen with a one-timer from the right face-off circle to win it.
Vladislav Gavrikov scored his first NHL goal, Pierre-Luc Dubois tied the game in the third period, and Joonas Korpisalo made 25 saves for the Blue Jackets (7-8-4), who won for the second time in nine games (2-5-2).
WATCH: [All Blues vs. Blue Jackets highlights]
Brayden Schenn and Mackenzie MacEachern scored, and Allen made 36 saves for the Blues (12-3-5), who were coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday after a seven-game winning streak.
St. Louis had a 2-1 lead entering the third period against Arizona too.
"We've got to do a better job of not letting the game go to overtime," Schenn said. "We've had the lead in multiple games here. Whether we're sitting back or not taking care of the puck or just too relaxed going into the third period, it's biting us right now, and we have to clean that up."
Dubois tied it 2-2 at 2:50. He scored on his second attempt after his shot from the right post went off Blues defenseman Vince Dunn's skate and came back to him.

St. Louis got a power play 36 seconds into overtime after Oliver Bjorkstrand was called for tripping Jaden Schwartz. Columbus defenseman David Savard blocked Schenn's shot on a short 3-on-1 at 1:39 after Seth Jones and Boone Jenner got caught high in the Blue Jackets zone.
"Guys were leaping in front of the puck," Korpisalo said. "It's great to see them put their bodies on the puck."
At 2:03, the Blues were called for too many men on the ice for the second time in as many games.
"You've got to use your brain, think better there," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "You've got to be patient, wait till the guy gets off the ice. Unnecessary penalties."
After several off-target attempts from the right circle, Werenski extended his goal streak to three games when he scored off a pass from Jones with Alex Wennberg screening Allen.
"Pretty much all you do is pick a corner," Werenski said. "It was a good pass by [Jones] and a great play by [Wennberg]."

The Blues have had 10 games go past regulation, the most in their history through 20 games. They are 5-3 in overtime and 0-2 in the shootout.
"We need to step on the throat a little bit more, if you want to use that term, and find ways to slow the teams down," Allen said. "It's not necessarily scoring goals but killing the momentum down to our pace and dictating what we want to do on the ice."
The Blue Jackets are 4-3 in overtime and 0-1 in the shootout.
"I think we've been in this situation quite a bit with overtime games, and we found ways to lose, so tonight it was our job to find a way to win," Werenski said.
Gavrikov gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 9:34 of the first period. It was the defenseman's 18th NHL game.

MacEachern tied it 1-1 at 19:17 on a wraparound.
Schenn gave the Blues a 2-1 lead at 9:04 of the second with a power-play goal.

They said it

"We're flirting with danger going to overtime as much as we are. A lot of them, we have leads going into the third, and we just have to kind of find that killer instinct and put teams away rather than giving away the points to the other team." -- Blues forward Mackenzie MacEachern
"I hope, because we find a way to win a game, that they can just feel good about it. I want them to feel good and not so tentative. … Probably 50 percent of your wins in this league are ugly wins. We needed a win. Another close game." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella

Need to know

With an assist on Schenn's goal, Blues forward David Perron has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in the past nine games. ... Blue Jackets rookie forward Emil Bemstrom had an assist on Dubois' goal to extend his point streak to four games (two goals, two assists). ... Columbus has won 30 regular-season overtime games since 2016-17, tying the Los Angeles Kings for the most in the NHL in that span. ... Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno served the second of a three-game suspension for elbowing Colorado Avalanche forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare on Saturday. ... Gavrikov is the third Blue Jackets rookie to score his first NHL goal in the past four games (Bemstrom at the Coyotes on Nov. 7; Eric Robinson at the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday). ... Columbus is the only NHL team that will not play Saturday.

What's next

Blues: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, FS-W, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)