St. Louis Blues teammates skate in to congratulate T.J. Oshie (74) after he scored a goal against the Phoenix Coyotes in the first period at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on January 14, 2014. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
It’s apparent Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak is over the flu. While not tested often, he had to come up big in the third period. He made 20 saves and held up T.J. Oshie’s big offensive night as the Blues beat the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1, Tuesday night at Scottrade Center.
The Blues won their fifth in a row at home and are now 7-1-1 in their last nine games against the Coyotes.
This game was all about Halak, who came up big, especially in the third.
“He had an unreal game. He made some big saves for us,” said Oshie, who scored both goals for the Blues…his ninth and tenth of the season. “He made some huge saves. That game could have been easily turned the other way into a 5-2 victory for them. Big saves.”
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak of Slovokia keeps an eye on the loose puck as teammate Jaden Schwartz keeps Phoenix Coyotes Antoine Vermette at a distance in the third period at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on January 14, 2014. St. Louis won the game 2-1. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Oshie has been on a bit of a streak since he learned he will represent the U.S.A. in the 2014 Olympics. This was his second, two-goal game since the announcement came down from Team USA on New Year’s Day.
Oshie scored 9:54 in the first on a one-timer off a feed from Alex Pietrangelo. Halak faced just four shots in the opening 20 minutes. Oshie answered in the second with a power play goal to put the Blues up 2-0.
With :47 left in the second, Oliver Eckman-Larson beat Halak for a power play goal, snapping a string of 21-straight penalty kills for the Blues.
In the opening two minutes of the third, Halak stopped a point blank shot and then got his blocker on a shot while sliding left to right to keep the game at a 2-1 advantage for the Blues. With under five minutes to play, Halak got beat on a wrister by Radim Vrbata, but his shot clanked off the crossbar.