Sundqvist scores twice, Blues hold off Lightning to end two-game slide

TAMPA --Oskar Sundqvist scored two goals before leaving with an injury for the St. Louis Blues, who held off the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 4-3 win at Amalie Arena on Wednesday.

Ivan Barbashev had three assists, and Jordan Binnington made 32 saves for the Blues (15-5-6), who were 0-1-1 in their previous two games.
"I thought it was a good hockey game all around," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "Back and forth. We played well. It was a good game. I thought our penalty kill was good (3-for-4). I know we gave up the one, but for the most part it kept them off the scoreboard. Big power-play goal for us in the third. Overall, a pretty solid game."
WATCH: [All Blues vs. Lightning highlights]
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists, Brayden Point had a goal and an assist, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves for the Lightning (12-8-2), who had won three straight.
"I thought we played hard. I thought we battled and competed," Point said. "Every line seemed to be working hard. It was tough to come up with nothing, but there is a lot to build on."
Kucherov gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 3:53 of the second period, scoring off a face-off win by Point when his shot redirected five-hole off Blues forward Zach Sanford.
Sundqvist tied it 1-1 at 5:31 with a shorthanded goal on a breakaway, and he made it 2-1 at 8:40 with a slap shot that beat Vasilevskiy five-hole from the top of the right face-off circle.

Sundqvist left the game at 12:34 because of a lower-body injury. Berube did not provide an update after the game.
Anthony Cirelli tied it 2-2 on a rebound in the crease at 11:39 of the second.
"First of all, that was a pretty good hockey game," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "I thought it was two good teams going at it. In the end, if you really break it down, they got us on the special teams side of things. We both got power-play goals, but we gave up a [shorthanded goal] and eventually it ended up being the difference."
Sanford put St. Louis ahead 3-2 at 8:21 of the third period on a one-timer, and Brayden Schenn scored a power-play goal five seconds after a 5-on-3 expired to extend the lead to 4-2 at 11:07.
"[Sundqvist] leaves this game after putting two in and being a big part of this team, it goes back to we're a team," Sanford said. "Everyone on this team from top to bottom can step up and maybe take over a little more of a role or change their role a little bit to help the team be successful. We've been doing a good job with it."
Point cut it to 4-3 with a power-play goal at 14:23.

The Lightning had five shots, including two from Cirelli in front, in the final 1:40.
"I really don't remember to be honest," Binnington said. "It's all pretty wild and you just compete out there and keep the puck out of the net. I know we were all battling out there and it was good to hear that buzzer go."

They said it

"He was outstanding. He's been like that since last year. He's got some confidence and we trust him. He made some big saves. It was just a big win." -- Blues forward Ivan Barbashev on goalie Jordan Binnington
"It's tough. Obviously, we got bit by the penalty bug there at the end. Tough break for that to happen. All in all, it was a good game and kind of one we feel like we should've had a point coming out of." -- Lightning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk

Need to know

Point has five points (four goals, one assist) in the past four games. … Barbashev didn't have a point in his previous six games. … Cirelli has nine points (five goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak. … Sundqvist has five goals in the past five games, including three in two games against the Lightning. … Blues forward David Perron had his four-game point streak end. … Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak was serving the first of a two-game suspension for elbowing Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.

What's next

Blues:At the Dallas Stars on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET; SNE, SNW, SNP, FS-SW+, FS-MW, NHL.TV)
Lightning:At the Washington Capitals on Friday (5 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSWA, SUN, NHL.TV)