The Blues were coming of three games of scoring 20 goals, and came in facing the second worst team in the league. It was said that if the Blues took the Hurricanes lightly, they would pay for it, and they nearly did.
The Hurricanes came out jumping, beating the Blues to every loose puck, winning board battles, and eventually, scoring goals.
Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner, and Eric Staal all scored in the first period, while Alexander Steen scored the lone goal for the Blues.
Rask's goal was a lucky bounce for him. The puck deflected off the skate of Chris Butler, and in between the pads of Brian Elliott. The goal came just two minutes into the hockey game.
Alexander Steen tied the game four minutes later, after he found the puck off a David Backes rebound, and beat Cam Ward with a quick shot.
Skinner's goal was off a turnover, in which both Patrik Berglund and Dmitrij Jaskin missed the puck. Skinner beat Elliott, glove side, to make it a 2-1 game. Jake Allen got up in the hall-way, with his mask on, stretching. A sign that Brian Elliott's leash was short one.
Eric Staal made it 3-1 on a beautiful breakaway goal, after another defensive breakdown. This was the end of the game for Brian Elliott, as Jake Allen came into the game in relief.
Now one could say that this is Brian Elliott's fault, in which you would be wrong. The first goal came off a lucky bounce for the Hurricanes. The second goal? Yes, Elliott should have had that. Staal's breakaway goal? Not sure there is a goalie in this league, except for Jonathan "Gumby" Quick, who could stop that. Three goals scored, one of them were on him.
If you're looking for someone to blame on why Elliott was pulled, look at the team in front of him. Turnovers were the key.
Jake Allen came into the game with just over seven minutes left in the period, and didn't face a shot the entire period.
The second period, the Blues looked like a different team. They were winning battles, controlling the puck, and eventually, they started putting the puck in the goal.
Jaden Schwartz scored for the Blues first in the second period. The Blues started working harder, skating harder, and they started forcing turnovers. That's exactly how Schwartz made it a 3-2 game. Schwartz picked off a Hurricane pass with his glove, dropped it to his stick, and out waited Cam Ward to score.
Patrik Berglund tied the game at three, just :56 second later, by making himself an option to shoot the puck. One of the biggest issues fans have with Berglund, is he's great at controlling the puck along the boards, but he never gets away from the boards in the offensive zone. He's got a really solid shot, if he would make himself an option to make an offensive play. He did just that, and he beat Ward to tie the game.
Riley Nash would score for the Hurricanes off a scramble in front of the net. The puck bounced off the post, off of Allen, and in the net. It became a 4-3 lead for the Hurricanes, and they would carry that into the third.
Then it was the all-star, Vladimir Tarasenko, who would tie the game, scoring his 23rd goal of the season, thanks to a beautiful stretch pass from the other all-star, Kevin Shattenkirk.
Tarasenko took the pass from Shattenkirk, made Tim Gleason look like a pylon, and fired a shot on goal. Ward stopped the original shot, but the rebound found Tarasenko's stick again, and he didn't miss a second time.
The game would go to overtime, and then we had a little controversy.
First off, there was only one referee on the ice, which was Steve Kozari. The second referee, Rob Martell, was involved in a collision in the second period, and was out the rest of the game.
Now, Jay Bouwmeester fired a puck, that beats Cam Ward and the Blues are celebrating. The game was over.....Or so they thought. One of the linesmen signaled to the lone ref, waiving off the goal. Goaltender interference on Patrik Berglund would negate the goal.
But the problem is, it wasn't goaltender interference. Patrik Berglund in skating in front of the goal, while Cam Ward skated out and bumped skates with him. Bouwmeester beat Ward, and they waive it off.
The other questionable call of the overtime period, was the off-sides call on Vladmir Tarasenko. Which after review confirmed it was not off-sides. Now lets understand that it's a fast game, and there are mistakes made by officials. They are human after all. But good grief, two wrong calls by the linesman on the night will frustrate fans, and the fans at the Scottrade Center let their displeasure known, reigning the loudest set of "boos" down on the ice at the officials.
All would be okay though, and the fans left happy, as T.J. Oshie would score the lone goal in the shoot-out for the Blues, while Jake Allen stopped all three shots he faced in the shoot-out. The Blues walked out of the building with four straight wins, while scoring 24 goals in that winning streak.
The Blues are back at it on Tuesday, as they host the leagues last place team, the Edmonton Oilers. But be careful, they almost looked over the Hurricanes and paid for it. The Oilers are 3-1-2 in their last six games, and they have looked much better under new head coach Todd Nelson.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Kevin Shattenkirk have been named to the NHL All-Star team.
Tarasenko has been the stand out for the Blues this season, scoring 23 goals, good for third in the league behind Rick Nash (26) and Tyler Seguin (26). He has 44 points in 42 games, which is good for eighth in league scoring.
Meanwhile, Kevin Shattenkirk is quietly leading all NHL defensemen with 37 points. His 30 assists on the season is good for fifth among all players in the National Hockey League.
Both will represent the Blues, as the NHL All-Star Skills Competition beginson Saturday, Jan. 24 (6 p.m. CT on NBCSN).