EDMONTON — Jordan Kyrou had his hands all over what was best described as a weird victory for the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
Kyrou scored the shootout winner as the St. Louis Blues came from behind to win their second game in a row, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3. He also scored the Blues' first goal in regulation and set up both markers that allowed them to comeback.
“It was a crazy game,” Kyrou said. “It was just one of those weird games where weird stuff was happening all game long. It is one of those games where you just have to stay with it and keep battling.”
Robert Thomas and Vladimir Tarasenko, with the tying goal, also scored in regulation for the Blues (14-15-1), who had lost six of their previous eight.
Jordan Binnington shutout Edmonton in the shootout session and made 24 saves in regulation and overtime.
“It was a big character win, guys stepped up,” Binnington said. “We had to overcome some self-inflicted adversity.
"It happens and you have to rise up and I think coming through at the end like that at the end of the third period to tie it up was massive. You could feel the excitement from the boys on the bench. It is one of those wins that we will remember moving forward.
Zach Hyman, Connor McDavid and Kailer Yamamoto responded with goals for the Oilers (17-13-1), who have lost two of their last three.
Stuart Skinner stopped one shot after giving up a goal to Kyrou in the shootout, and made 29 saves between regulation and overtime.
“We put ourselves in a position to win this game but, in the end, it’s a 60-minute game, not a 59-minute (or) 30-second game,” said Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft of the tying goal.
“We only got one point because we made a couple of critical errors. But that’s hockey."
Edmonton got off to a quick start thanks to a rare gaffe by the Blues, who were assessed an early penalty for starting an incorrect lineup.
The Oilers scored on the ensuing power play just 63 seconds into the first period as Hyman whirled around the net and slid a backhand shot under Binnington.
It was Hyman’s 14th of the season and fifth in three games.
The Blues evened the game 6:47 into the frame after Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse coughed up the puck and Kyrou blasted a shot into the top corner from the high slot for his 11th of the campaign.
Edmonton regained the lead with another power-play marker 4:32 into the second period. McDavid went the length of the ice, dancing around a couple of defenders before making a perfectly-placed wrist shot to the corner.
His league-leading 27th of the year extended his point streak to 11 games.
The Oilers made it a two-goal contest 10:36 into the third, when Tyson Barrie floated a long shot on net that was tipped home by Yamamoto for his 100th career NHL point.
The lead only lasted 49 seconds, however, as the Blues responded when Ivan Barbashev finessed a pass through to Thomas and he beat Skinner for his seventh.
Binnington kept his team within reach a few minutes later, making five saves on Yamamoto and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Tarasenko tied the game up with a short-handed goal as 19.1 seconds remained in regulation. Another Nurse giveaway led to the puck popping loose to Tarasenko, sending the game to overtime.
It appeared as though Leon Draisaitl had scored on his own rebound 2:22 into overtime, but it was ruled that McDavid brought the puck in offside upon video review.
McDavid was not thrilled with the ruling.
“Since I was a kid, I thought if you have possession of the puck (going over the blue line) that's onside. If I had possession or not, I guess that's the judgment call,” he said.
“The league's got to clarify some of these rules. What's a kick? What's offside? What's goalie interference? It kind of depends on the night, I guess. It’s disappointing. Obviously, we should never have even let it get to that point."
NOTES
The Oilers league-leading power play went 2-of-5 on Thursday after coming into the game with 11 goals in 24 opportunities in their previous seven. … St. Louis is the only team in the NHL that McDavid hasn’t averaged at least a point per game against in his career, with 18 points in 21 encounters. … The Blues came to Edmonton having allowed four-plus goals in 16 of its 29 games. … Out with injuries for St. Louis were Marco Scandella (hip) and Scott Perunovich (shoulder). Forward Pavel Buchnevich returned after missing four games because of a lower-body injury. Fellow Blues forward Logan Brown was assigned to Springfield of the American Hockey League for conditioning on Thursday after missing the last 18 games with a lower-body injury. … Out for the Oilers were Evander Kane (wrist), Warren Foegele (undisclosed) and Ryan McLeod (undisclosed).
UP NEXT
The Blues remain in Alberta to play the second of a season-high five-game road trip against the Calgary Flames on Friday.
The Edmonton Oilers play the second of a brief two-game homestand on Saturday afternoon against the Anaheim Ducks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2022.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press
