Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak returned from a groin injury and made 19 saves. However, the 20th shot he faced got by, and the Blues lost in overtime at Colorado 1-0. The Avalanche scored the game winner with 16.4 left in OT. David Jones took a pass from Matt Hunwick and whipped the puck through a screen and past Halak’s glove for his second goal of the season.
The Blues tested Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov who made 33 saves for his second shutout of the season, and the 10th of his NHL career. The lost was just the third in nine road games for the Blues, who have lost seven consecutive games at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
“We had all kinds of chances, didn’t finish around the net,” coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We left the game out there and then made a mistake on the backcheck [in overtime]. That was the end of the game.”
Blues rookie forward Vladimir Tarasenko left the game in the third period after a hard hit by Avalanche forward Mark Olver. Tarasenko was hit along the right boards in the Colorado zone. Play was called and Tarasenko, with a towel over his mouth, was able to make his way off the ice. Blues’ TV analyst Darren Pang reported on Twitter that Tarasenko rejoined team from the hospital and is flying back to St. Louis.
Tarasenko, the Blues’ top pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, has six goals and 12 points in 17 games. He looked a little woozy laying on the ice. VIDEO courtesy of NHL.com