Dylan Holloway found the back of the net twice while Robert Thomas contributed three points to power the St. Louis Blues past the Anaheim Ducks 6-2 on Friday night, breathing new life into their postseason chase.
The Blues (32-31-12, 76 points) received additional offensive contributions from Pius Suter and Colton Parayko, who each recorded a goal and an assist. St. Louis now sits just three points behind a playoff berth with seven contests remaining on their schedule.
Jonatan Berggren also lit the lamp for the visiting Blues, while Jake Neighbours and Philip Broberg each contributed two assists. Between the pipes, Joel Hofer turned aside 25 shots to secure the victory.
For Anaheim (41-30-5, 87 points), Ryan Poehling managed a goal and assist while Jeffrey Viel added a single tally. The defeat cost the Ducks sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division, as they now share 87 points with Edmonton, though the Oilers hold the advantage in tiebreakers.
Anaheim netminder Lukas Dostal made 23 saves but couldn’t prevent his team from extending their winless streak to four games (0-3-1).
The decisive moment came late in the opening period when Berggren capitalized on a costly Anaheim turnover. With the contest deadlocked at 2-2, Berggren positioned himself perfectly in the slot and converted the opportunity with just 76 seconds left in the fast-paced first frame.
St. Louis expanded their advantage early in the second period when Suter finished off a beautiful setup from Neighbours and Tyler Tucker at the 3:08 mark, making it 4-2.
Parayko further extended the Blues’ cushion at 16:50 of the middle period, unleashing a wrist shot from the top of the right circle for his second goal of the campaign.
Holloway capped the scoring with a power-play strike just 82 seconds into the final period, blasting home a one-timer from the right circle off a Thomas feed to complete his two-goal performance and establish the final 6-2 margin.
The early stages featured plenty of back-and-forth action. Anaheim struck first when Poehling deflected Mason MacTavish’s long-range attempt past Hofer at the 1:51 mark.
Thomas answered for St. Louis at 5:24, chipping home a close-range shot after Broberg sprung him on a breakaway. The assist extended Broberg’s point streak to a career-high seven games.
Holloway gave the Blues their first lead midway through the opening frame, finding the target from the top of the right circle on the power play.
The Ducks responded by leveling the score when Viel redirected Poehling’s cross-ice feed at 16:01, setting up Berggren’s eventual game-winner.
