Ehrhoff's OT goal rallies Canucks past Blues

ST. LOUIS — The reeling St. Louis Blues let another one get
away.

Christian Ehrhoff scored a power-play goal 2:24 into overtime,
and the Vancouver Canucks rallied from three goals down to beat
the Blues 4-3 on Thursday night.

Ehrhoff scored his ninth of the season with a shot from the
right circle as the Canucks were on a power play. Brad Boyes was
given a 4-minute penalty for high-sticking penalty 19 seconds
into overtime.

“It was a great pass by (Kyle Wellwood) through the seam,”
Ehrhoff said. “(Ryan Kesler) was making a great screen there (in
front) and the goalie couldn’t see it. I just had to put it in
the corner.”

Henrik Sedin tied the game with 1:56 remaining in regulation for
the Canucks, 8-2-1 in their last 11 games. Vancouver scored
twice in the third period and sent the Blues, who have the NHL’s
worst home record at 6-13-3, to their fourth consecutive defeat.

“I thought our guys stuck to the principles out there and
battled hard to come back,” Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said.
“We were able to get a power-play goal in overtime 4-on-3.”

Daniel and Henrik Sedin each had a goal and an assist, and
Mikael Samuelsson also scored for the Canucks, 8-2-1 in their
last 11 games. Vancouver defeated the Blues for the first time
in three games this season. Roberto Luongo stopped 22 shots.

“Anybody knows how tough it is to come back in this league,”
Vigneault said. "I know that St. Louis right now is going
through a challenging period, but they’re still an excellent
hockey team.

“To be where we were and come back from a three-goal deficit and
win in OT for our confidence and believing in ourselves is real
good.”

Andy McDonald had a goal and an assist, and Brad Boyes had two
assists for St. Louis, 0-3-1 in its last four games.

“They’re all difficult,” Blues captain Eric Brewer said. “It’s
certainly a tough stretch for us. At the end of the day, the
penalties really took our flow of our game and we were good with
it most of the game. They just found a way to get one when they
needed one.”

Keith Tkachuk scored his 26th career goal against the Canucks
and Alex Steen netted his fourth in three games. Chris Mason
stopped 26 shots as the Blues fell to 1-7-2 in their last 10
home games.

“We’ve been here before and they all hurt. I don’t qualify
losses,” Blues coach Andy Murray said. “This hurts just like
every loss that we’ve had.”

The Blues took a 1-0 lead during a 5-minute power play when
Steen notched his seventh of the season on a one-timer from the
slot with 3:05 left in the first.

Canucks right winger Rick Rypien received a match penalty that
resulted in the power play for St. Louis after a fight with Cam
Janssen. Rypien received the automatic ejection for having tape
on his hands below the wrist that cuts or injures an opponent
during an altercation. Janssen was bleeding from the nose.

“In my mind, we got put in a very tough position in the first
period when we were assessed that five-minute major penalty,”
Vigneault said. "In my opinion, it was not the right call. The
call clearly states that there has to be a cut. There was no
cut. It was a broken nose.

“The tape is on (Rypien’s) right hand and he threw punches with
his left, got him good a couples times and broke his nose.
That’s not a cut. So I thought the interpretation of that call
was wrong.”

Tkachuk made it 2-0 at 4:07 of the second with a one-timed shot
into an open side after David Perron fought his way past
Mitchell.

McDonald gave the Blues a 3-0 lead with 5:30 remaining in the
second. Canucks defenseman Sami Salo backchecked on McDonald’s
breakaway, but the Canucks failed to clear the zone. McDonald
slammed in a shot from the left circle.

Daniel Sedin started the Canucks’ rally when his shot from
behind the Blues’ net caromed off the right skate of Roman Polak
and off Mason’s right skate with 3:51 remaining in the second.

Samuelsson got the Canucks closer when his bad-angle shot from
the left circle squirted through Mason at 5:46 of the third
period to make it 3-2.

Henrik Sedin tied it with 1:56 left in regulation. Mason failed
to cover a loose puck, and Sedin banged it in off an assist from
twin brother Daniel.

“We know that their confidence level is not high right now,”
Ehrhoff said of the Blues. “We know if we can get one, we can
push harder and yeah, we got the job done.”

NOTES: Tkachuk has 62 points in 64 career games against
Vancouver. … Canucks D Kevin Bieksa didn’t play after injuring
his ankle from a skate blade Tuesday in a shootout loss at
Phoenix. … The Blues scored four goals in the first 7:36 of a
6-1 home win over the Canucks on Nov. 10. … Blues D Erik
Johnson returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch
Tuesday. He is pointless in nine games. … Steen has 10 points
in seven games. … St. Louis is 13-2-4 when leading after two
periods. … The Canucks, who came in third in the league on the
power play, were 1 for 8.