Parayko wins it in overtime as Blues come back and defeat Islanders 3-2
ST. LOUIS — Colton Parayko scored on an unassisted wraparound at 3:23 of overtime, sending the St. Louis Blues to their sixth consecutive victory with a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
“I don’t really get that close to the net all the time,” Parayko said. “I saw the opportunity, I guess, and just tried to wrap it. They got a skate on it and kind of went in the corner. It’s kind of man-on-man in 3-on-3. Their D-man, I thought he was going to come at me so I kind of held that front, so I just thought it would be a good opportunity to wrap it.”
Vince Dunn tied it for St. Louis with 1:44 left in the third period. Brayden Schenn also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Jordan Binnington, who had 15 saves, made his 47th start of the season and improved to 29-11-7.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Jordan Eberle scored for the Islanders, who are a point behind third-place Philadelphia in the Metropolitan Division and hold a slim lead for the top Eastern Conference wild card. Thomas Greiss stopped 30 shots.
The Blues improved to 8-10 in overtime, while New York fell to 11-8.
Parayko got the puck at center ice. He tried to make a pass to Schenn and it went off Anthony Beauvillier’s skate. Parayko beat him to the puck in the corner and then went behind the net. His shot bounced off Greiss’ pad and in for the game-winning goal.
“Yeah, I didn’t see that one coming,” Schenn said. “Good defensive play by him, get his feet moving, and a wraparound in OT. You don’t see that very often, but it went in and a huge goal by him.”
St. Louis pulled even on an unassisted slap shot from the top of the slot by Dunn after the Islanders failed to clear the puck. It was Dunn’s first goal since Jan. 11, a span of 19 games.
“It wasn’t anything special. (Zach) Sanford had a nice screen on the goalie,” Dunn said. “(It’s) pretty hard for the goalie to react that quick to the shot. I honestly didn’t know it went in until I saw everyone celebrating. It’s great for me, but it’s also great for the team.”
Blues coach Craig Berube said that play is typical of Dunn.
“He’s a great player. He does a lot of good stuff for us,” Berube said. “He’s a dynamic player with the puck.”
The Islanders led 2-1 after the first period.
Pageau scored on a one-timer from the right circle at 8:20. The power-play goal came after he took a pass from Mathew Barzal. It was Pageau’s 26th goal of the season and second in two games since New York acquired him from Ottawa at Monday’s trade deadline. He has five goals and eight points in his last six games.
New York went ahead 2-0 at 16:34. A wide-open Eberle skated in and beat Binnington with a backhand for his fifth goal in the last four games. Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo gave up the puck near mid-ice and Anders Lee got it. He passed to Barzal, who fed Eberle rushing in on the right side.
“I think we got on our heels a bit,” Eberle said. “We lost some battles and they’re a good team. I guess you can say you got a point, but this late in the season you want to try and get two. You take the one, but some things to correct, obviously.”
St. Louis cut it to 2-1 on a slap shot by Schenn at 19:05. It was his 23rd goal of the season, good for second on the team. Ryan O’Reilly made a cross-ice pass to Schenn, who was in the right circle. It was Schenn’s third goal in his last three games after scoring three times in the previous 24.
The Islanders were outshot 23-5 after the first period.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t get two (points), but we got one and every point is going to matter here,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “We’ll see at the end of the whole process if this is the one that got away or if this is the one that got us in. The Blues have been pretty good in this building.”
Colton Parayko on the ability of the #stlblues‘ defensemen to jump up into the rush and get involved offensively: “Our forwards have done an incredible job of allowing us to do that. … It’s been a huge help.” pic.twitter.com/8i6wlala9T
— FOX Sports Midwest (@FSMidwest) February 28, 2020
NOTES: Blues D Jay Bouwmeester got a standing ovation in the first period when he was shown on the video board as he watched the game at Enterprise Center. The 36-year-old Bouwmeester, who had a cardiac episode on the bench Feb. 11 in Anaheim, will miss the rest of the season and playoffs. … Islanders D Andy Green (back) was scratched. He left Tuesday’s game against the Rangers in the first period after a collision with Brendan Lemieux and is day to day. … The game marked the road portion of the dads’ trip for the Islanders, which also included the home game against the Rangers. Eighteen players either had their father or a male mentor traveling with the team.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Host the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Blues: Host the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
