Blues clinch third place in Central
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Vladimir Tarasenko scored in the fourth round of the shootout as the St. Louis Blues defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 on Saturday night at PNC Arena.
By advancing to overtime, the Blues clinched third place in the Central Division and open the the playoffs against the Minnesota Wild.
Carolina's Lee Stempniak began the shootout by converting before Patrik Berglund evened the count for the Blues.
Ivan Barbashev, Alexander Steen, Ryan Reaves and Scottie Upshall scored in regulation for the Blues.
Jeff Skinner posted two goals, while Klas Dahlbeck and Joakim Nordstrom also scored for Carolina, which lost its fifth game in a row. It was the Hurricanes' home finale.
Carolina goaltender Cam Ward stopped 35 shots while St. Louis's Carter Hutton made 34 saves.
Upshall put the Blues ahead with a short-handed goal 2:03 into the third period.
Skinner answered with his second goal of the game with 10:46 remaining.
The Blues pulled even at 3-3 when Reaves was credited with a goal in transition with 54 seconds to play in the second period.
Barbashev scored for the third time in the past month to open the scoring 26 seconds into the game. Dahlbeck answered 8:44 later with his second goal of the season and first since Nov. 8 at New Jersey.
Skinner's team-leading 36th goal of the season came with 29 seconds left in the first period.
Steen's tying goal came at 5:19 of the second period. His blast from inside the blue line came with seven seconds remaining on a power play.
Nordstrom's go-ahead goal came with 5:49 remaining in the second period. Victor Rask's pass went to Sergey Tolchinsky, who delivered a pass to Nordstrom. He scored for the second time in the last 14 games.
NOTES: With special permission from the NHL, Carolina players wore "29" on their helmets to honor LW Bryan Bickell, who returned earlier in the week as he battles multiple sclerosis. He plans to retire after Sunday's game. ... Despite rejoining the St. Louis organization again this week, C Vladimir Sobotka was a healthy scratch Saturday, which was when he would have been eligible to play for the first time this season. ... The Hurricanes finished with a 23-12-6 record on home ice, though they were shut out in each of the past two home games. Carolina reached the 50-point mark at home for the first time since the 2008-09 season. ... The Hurricanes called up LW Sergey Tolchinsky for his first NHL game of the season. ... St. Louis closes the regular season Sunday at home against Colorado. ... The Hurricanes end the season Sunday at Philadelphia.