The St. Louis Blues started their western Canada swing with a loss against the NHL leading Vancouver Canucks losing 3-2 on Thursday night.
Manny Malhotra scored just over a minute into the third period to break a 2-2 tie. The Canucks jumped to a 2-0, first period lead on goals by Mikael Samuelsson and Sami Salo against Ty Conklin.
However, the Blues battled back in the second period, outshooting the Canucks 11-4 and getting goals 1:14 apart by Alex Pietrangelo and David Backes to tie the game. Twice the Blues rattled the cross bar. T.J. Oshie missed a minute after Backes’ tying goal and four minutes later defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk hit iron.
The Blues are in Edmonton Friday night.