Berglund's OT goal helps Blues ground Ducks
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Patrik Berglund scored his second goal 51 seconds into overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174 at the Honda Center.
Goalie Carter Hutton stopped 22 shots in his second successive start for the Blues (23-16-5), who earned their second consecutive victory after losing three of four.
Rickard Rakell scored for the Ducks (24-14-9), who missed a chance to get their fourth straight win, which would have been a season high. Goalie John Gibson made 23 saves.
Berglund won the game when he redirected Jaden Schwartz's pass from the right circle over Gibson's left shoulder for his 10th goal. As a result, the Blues ended a 10-game losing streak to the Ducks in Anaheim.
Rakell used his 18th goal to tie the score 5:11 into the third period by backhanding Ryan Getzlaf's slap shot from the left circle past two defenders and under the prone Hutton's left leg pad. Getzlaf tallied his team-leading 28th assist.
The Ducks had to survive the final 1:37 of regulation and the first 23 seconds of overtime shorthanded because Rakell received a high-sticking penalty. But St. Louis failed to register a shot on goal.
The Blues took a 1-0 lead nearly 3 1/2 minutes after Anaheim had its best chance to score the first goal. The Ducks' Antoine Vermette passed from the right boards to free Nick Ritchie for a breakaway. But Hutton used his blocker to stop Ritchie's wrist shot from the slot 5:22 into the second period.
Berglund's ninth goal put the visitors ahead at 11:03 of the second period. After Robby Fabbri deflected David Perron's shot from the left boards, the puck skipped around the boards to Berglund, who took an off-balance shot while falling between Vermette and Ritchie. The puck ricocheted off Gibson's left leg pad and inside the right post.
St. Louis had to defuse the Ducks' 4-minute power play after Kyle Brodziak received a pair of 2-minute penalties for elbowing and cross-checking with 5:12 left in the first period. But the Blues held the hosts to just two shots on goal.
NOTES: St. Louis scratched D Carl Gunnarsson, D Brad Hunt and RW Scottie Upshall. ... Blues C Patrik Berglund passed Hall of Famer Chris Pronger and moved into 11th place on the club's career list of games played with his 599th appearance. ... Anaheim scratched RW Stefan Noesen and D Shea Theodore. ... Ducks LW Andrew Cogliano played in his 750th consecutive game. Cogliano ranks fifth in NHL history in successive appearances. ... Ducks LW Rickard Rakell played in his 200th career game.