The St. Louis Blues left Delta Center with two points Thursday night, outlasting the Utah Mammoth 1-0 in an eight-round shootout after 65 minutes of scoreless hockey.
Connor McMichael delivered the final blow, and Joel Hofer did the rest, turning in a night-long wall of a performance as St. Louis won for the second straight time.
Hofer stopped all 29 shots he saw in regulation and overtime, then kept coming up with answers in the shootout. On the other end, Karel Vejmelka was just as sharp, finishing with 22 saves and keeping Utah in the game until the very end.
For the Blues, the result followed Tuesday’s 3-2 home win over the Detroit Red Wings, which snapped a three-game losing streak. St. Louis entered Thursday with a 2-5 record against Central Division opponents and needed a road result to keep building momentum.
The game never offered much breathing room. Utah had the edge in shots in the opening period, 10-5, and the first real jolt came when Ross Johnston dropped the gloves with Liam O’Brien just under two minutes into the night. Johnston landed a few right hands before taking O’Brien down, marking his second straight game with a fight after also scrapping with Detroit on Tuesday.
St. Louis came closer to scoring when Alexey Toropchenko rang a shot off the crossbar, but Utah controlled most of the period and kept the Blues away from dangerous areas. The Mammoth’s defensive structure held up well, and the Blues had to work for nearly every chance they created.
The second period brought more pressure from St. Louis, but Vejmelka kept turning them away.
One of his best stops came when Connor McMichael found Dalibor Dvorsky in front for what looked like a tap-in. Vejmelka got across in time to deny it.
Hofer matched him save for save, especially when Utah got looks on the power play. He also had to navigate a tense moment behind his own net in the third period after aggressive puck-handling nearly turned into trouble, but the Blues escaped without giving up a goal.
Neither team scored in regulation or overtime, and the numbers reflected how tight the game was. Utah blocked 13 shots, St. Louis blocked 10, and both goaltenders kept the offenses from ever finding a clean breakthrough.
That pushed everything to the shootout, where the drama finally cracked open. Jake Neighbours opened the scoring for St.
Louis with a backhand finish after Vincent Trocheck had started the round with a goal for Utah. Clayton Keller then hit the post, and Mason McTavish also rang one off the iron.
Hofer kept answering, stopping attempts from Kailer Yamamoto and Mikhail Sergachev. Dylan Holloway had a chance to end it for St. Louis, but Vejmelka turned him away.
Utah’s Michael Carcone beat Hofer with a wrist shot to swing the pressure back to the Blues, and Jimmy Snuggerud answered with a five-hole finish to keep St. Louis alive. After Barrett Hayton missed the net, McMichael stepped in and ripped the deciding shot past Vejmelka in the eighth round.
The Blues got contributions all over the shootout. Neighbours set the tone, Snuggerud kept them in it, and McMichael finished it. Hofer’s work throughout the night made the whole thing possible.
A game that stayed scoreless through regulation and overtime still had plenty going on. The early fight gave it an edge right away, and both teams spent the night trading chances, stops and near-misses.
Snuggerud made a key defensive play in the second period to break up a Mammoth 2-on-1, and later his pass to McTavish led to a goal that was overturned for offside. In overtime, St.
Louis controlled much of the puck possession and even used Hofer as an extra passing outlet to create space. Snuggerud hit the post from the slot, and Philip Broberg appeared to score the winner before Utah successfully challenged the play after the puck went off the crossbar.
The Blues return home Saturday, Nov. 14, to face the Florida Panthers at Enterprise Center. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m.
CT as St. Louis goes for a third straight win.
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