Schwartz lifts Blues over Canadiens in OT
ST. LOUIS -- Left winger Jaden Schwartz scored 3:38 into overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 victory Tuesday night over the Montreal Canadiens.
Schwartz had also scored the tying goal midway through the third period as the Blues rallied from a 2-0 deficit.
Center Paul Stastny cut the Canadiens' lead to 2-1 on his shot just under the crossbar at 7:40 of the period, and Stastny then set up Schwartz for the tying goal at 10:31.
The Blues earned at least one point for the 13th consecutive home game. They have only one regulation home loss in 16 games this season.
The Canadiens took the lead on goals from left winger Paul Byron in the first period and center Tomas Plekanec in the second period.
Byron was credited for the first goal of the game at 10:06 of the first period when Blues goalie Jake Allen could not handle a rebound and the puck was kicked into the net by Blues' defenseman Carl Gunnarsson.
The Canadiens increased the lead to 2-0 at 17:42 of the second period on a two-on-one break. Byron fed a pass through defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to Plekanec, who flipped a backhand shot past Allen.
The goal snapped a streak of 13 consecutive games without a goal for Piekanec and was only his second of the season. Plekanec also earned an assist on Byron's goal.
The Blues failed to convert on three power-play opportunities in the first period and four chances with a man-advantage during the game. Thirteen of Montreal goalie Al Montoya's 28 saves came in the first period.
Montoya made his eighth start of the season and first since Nov. 18 in place of regular goalie Carey Price.
NOTES: The Canadiens were without their leading scorer, C Alex Galchenyuk, who suffered a lower-body injury in their game Sunday in Los Angeles. He is scheduled to be re-evaluated by team doctors Wednesday in Montreal. Galchenyuk had nine goals and 14 assists in the first 25 games of the season. He had played in 130 consecutive games. ... The Blues activated D Joel Edmundson from injured reserve but lost D Robert Bortuzzo for at least six weeks because of a lower-body injury sustained Saturday night. ... C Jori Lehtera returned to the Blues' lineup after being a healthy scratch Saturday. ... The Blues open a four-game trip Thursday night against the Islanders, while the Canadiens return home to play New Jersey the same night.