The Blues supplied the chances. The whistles and horns prevented their goals.
During a 4-1 loss to the Wild on Tuesday night at Enterprise Center, the Blues were controlling the pace, the puck and the possession but could not find the back of the net in time.
Jordan Kyrou’s apparent goal was wiped away due to an early whistle. Ryan Suter’s last-second shot crossed the goal line just after the second period ended.
Minnesota, meanwhile, scored on the few chances it was given, tallying on the power play in the first period, while shorthanded in the second period and at even strength and into an empty net in the third period.
Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson scored with 8.1 seconds remaining, scoring the rare goalie goal.
Mathieu Joseph scored in the third period for the Blues to bring them within 3-1.
The Blues were about a second away from not one but two goals in the second period.
After Jakub Lauko scored a shorthanded goal by fighting off a Kyrou backcheck to give the Wild a 2-0 lead, Kyrou himself looked to pull St. Louis back within one goal. Kyrou was initially robbed on a post-to-post save by Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson, and Jake Neighbours swatted away at the rebound at the side of the net.
When referee Carter Sandiak lost sight of the puck, he blew the play dead, and Kyrou stuffed the still loose puck into the vacant net. The Blues protested the apparent early whistle, to no avail.
The replay of Kyrou’s non-goal was shown on the Enterprise Center video board, sending the sellout, home-opener crowd into a frenzy with coordinated chants and thunderous boos when Sandiak announced a slashing penalty on Mathieu Joseph shortly after the play.
At the end of the second period, the Blues were denied again when Suter’s last-second bid crossed the goal line a split-second after the clock hit triple zeros. Suter flung a prayer from the left boards with Neighbours at the net-front that beat Gustavsson a touch too late.
The 2-0 Wild lead at the end of the second period was not indicative of the type of game the Blues had played through 40 minutes. They had more than twice as many shot attempts as Minnesota (56-27). Through the first 35:57, they allowed just four even-strength Wild shots before Minnesota strung together five in the final minutes of the second period.
Capitalizing quickly
It took the Wild 19 seconds to score on the power play after Alexey Toropchenko was called for high-sticking Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber. Replays showed that Toropchenko never hit Faber with his stick and instead rode him into the boards.
Ryan Hartman scored for Minnesota, beating Jordan Binnington on the rush, but the legwork was mostly handled by Kirill Kaprizov. Kaprizov received a pass from Faber off the side boards and extended his stick to poke it past an outstretched Brayden Schenn, creating space in the neutral zone.
Kaprizov sped down the left side of the neutral zone, then cut into the middle as he crossed the offensive blue line, drawing all three remaining Blues defenders — Radek Faksa, Colton Parayko and Nick Leddy. Kaprizov then slid a backhand to a darting Hartman, who beat Binnington clean.
It was Hartman’s second goal on Binnington since his run-in with Binnington in March 2023 that nearly led to Binnington fighting Marc-Andre Fleury.
It was also the second power play goal allowed by the Blues this season.
Leddy’s tough start
Minnesota extended the lead to 3-0 just 46 seconds into the third period, taking advantage of Leddy’s turnover while trying to exit the Blues zone. Kaprizov knocked the puck down and the play ended with Marco Rossi’s tap-in on the backdoor.
For Leddy, it was another goal against when he was on the ice. Through four games, Leddy has been on the ice for seven goals, or almost two a game.
In the third period, Leddy was demoted to the third pair with Matthew Kessel as Suter took his spot on the top pair beside Parayko. Suter was also on the penalty kill in Leddy’s place with Parayko as the third period wound down.
Post-Dispatch Blues beat reporter Matthew DeFranks joined columnist Jeff Gordon to recap the team’s comeback victories at Seattle and San Jose.
Blues forward Jordan Kyrou gets up after running into goalie Jordan Binnington following a Wild goal in the second period of a game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, at Enterprise Center.
Blues fans show their displeasure with the referee after an early whistle meant Blues forward Jordan Kyrou’s second-period goal wouldn’t count during the team’s home opener against the Wild on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, at Enterprise Center.
Blues forward Jordan Kyrou carries the puck past the blue line while being defended by the Wild’s Brock Faber in the first period on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, at Enterprise Center