Blues 3, Sabres 2 (SO)
ST. LOUIS -- Left winger Alexander Steen scored the only goal in the shootout to lift the St. Louis Blues to a 3-2 win Thursday night over the Buffalo Sabres.
Steen was the third Blues' shooter and beat goalie Linus Ullmark, although it had to be reviewed to make certain it was not knocked in on a rebound.
Goalie Jake Allen stopped all three Sabres shots to extend the Blues dominance over Buffalo. The Blues have won 17 of their last 19 games against Buffalo dating back to 1999.
Right winger Vladimir Tarasenko nearly won the game for the Blues in overtime when he fired a shot that went off the right post.
The Sabres had a great chance to break the tie early in the third period, having a five-on-three power play for 1:47 because of penalties to centers Scott Gomez and David Backes but couldn't score against goalie Jake Allen, who stopped Buffalo's best scoring chance with a sprawling glove save on center Ryan O'Reilly.
The Blues built a 2-1 lead on power-play goals from defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and right winger Vladimir Tarasenko, only the second time this season they have scored two power-play goals in a game.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Blues left center Ryan O'Reilly alone in front of the net and he fired a shot past goalie Jake Allen at 11:56 of the second period to tie the score. It was O'Reilly's third goal in as many games and his seventh of the season.
The Blues had to kill off 49 seconds of a five-on-three advantage in the closing two minutes of the period to keep the score tied going to the third period.
Shattenkirk had put the Blues in front 5:34 into the game after Sabres left winger Tyler Ennis was assessed a major penalty for boarding Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.
The Sabres tied the score 1:31 into the second period on a delayed penalty when left winger Sam Reinhart knocked in a rebound.
Tarasenko responded with his 12th goal of the season at 4:28 of the second period while defenseman Jake McCabe was serving a minor hooking penalty.
Since the Blues began the season 0 for 23 on the power play at home, the goal by Tarasenko gave them four power-play goals in 14 chances in their last three games.
NOTES: Despite taking a high-stick to his face and throat in Tuesday night's game, C Jori Lehtera was in the Blues' lineup on Thursday night. ... Also playing for the Blues was LW Steve Ott, who had missed six games because of an upper-body injury. ... The Sabres also welcomed back a key player, LW Evander Kane, who was sidelined for 10 games because of a knee injury. ... Blues C Paul Stastny, out since Oct. 18 because of a broken foot, participated in the morning skate. He is waiting for medical clearance to return to the lineup. ... Rookie D Colton Parayko missed his second consecutive game for the Blues with a lower-body injury. ... Sabres D Mark Pysyk is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. ... The Blues host Detroit on Saturday night while the Sabres stay on the road to play the Dallas Stars the same night.