Brandon Saad scores twice as Blues beat Flames 4-3
By The Associated Press on January 23, 2024.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – Brandon Saad’s second goal of the night with 48 seconds left in the third period was the winner as the St. Louis Blues rallied to beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 on Tuesday night. Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou also scored for St. Louis and Jordan Binnington made 32 saves. MacKenzie Weegar, Noah Hanifin and Yegor Sharangovich provided the offense for Calgary, which has lost three in a row. Jacob Markstrom, returning from a three-game absence due to a lower-body injury, made 22 saves. Down 3-1 late in the second, St. Louis started its comeback with a short-handed goal. When Weegar mishandled the puck at the St. Louis blue line, Schenn pounced on it and raced away on a breakaway, burying his 11th goal of the season past Markstrom. The Blues’ 11th short-handed goal moves them into a tie for the league lead with the Dallas Stars. Kyrou tied it 3-3 at 6:56 of the third when he skated uncontested into the slot off the side boards and fired his 13th goal just inside the goalpost. On the winning goal, Saad got the puck inside his own blue line, carried it through the neutral zone and sent a 50-foot wrist shot that rattled in off the goalpost on Markstrom’s glove side. Having already eclipsed his career high of eight, Weegar’s 11 goals is tied for third for defensemen in the league behind Rasmus Dahlin (13) and Quinn Hughes (12). While the Blues are 18-2-0 when scoring first, their .900 winning percentage leading the NHL, it’s the opposite when they don’t score first. But Tuesday’s win improves their record when trailing first to 5-18-2. UP NEXT Blues: Visit Vancouver on Wednesday night. Flames: Host Columbus on Thursday night. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl 16-15
