ST. LOUIS — The Blues finally found the answer after Columbus erased another lead, with Jonatan Berggren cashing in during a delayed penalty at 9:33 of the third period to push St. Louis to a 5-3 win over the Blue Jackets at Enterprise Center on Saturday.
St. Louis had watched a 3-2 advantage disappear early in the final frame, but Berggren restored order on a sequence that began after Mathieu Olivier tripped him. With the whistle delayed, Colton Parayko sent the puck toward the crease from below the goal line. Jet Greaves stopped Mason McTavish at the doorstep, but Berggren was positioned for the loose puck and lifted the rebound home for the winner.
Pavel Buchnevich put the game away into an empty net with 43 seconds remaining. The victory moved the Blues to 2-2-1 and snapped a three-game slide in which they had gone 0-2-1.
Jimmy Snuggerud supplied two goals, while Dylan Holloway worked three assists in the comeback effort. Jordan Binnington stopped 20 shots for St. Louis.
Blues rally after Columbus starts fast
Columbus arrived in St. Louis after a shootout win over Pittsburgh on Friday and carried that momentum through most of the opening period. Valeri Nichushkin opened the scoring at 16:10. Eric Gudbranson drove down the left side and sent a puck off the outside of the net toward the slot, where Sean Monahan got a shot away that redirected off Nichushkin and through Binnington.
Kent Johnson doubled the Blue Jackets’ edge with only 12 seconds left in the first. From the left circle, Johnson snapped a wrist shot into the upper-right corner for a 2-0 lead.
The Blues started to turn the game in the second period. Jake Neighbours got them on the board at 6:10, batting in a rebound after Justin Barron’s slap shot created traffic around Greaves.
Snuggerud tied it at 9:02, arriving at the back post for a tap-in after Philip Broberg carried the puck wide around Cole Sillinger and found the rookie forward behind Zach Werenski. Snuggerud then gave St. Louis its first lead at 12:32, taking Robert Thomas’ drop pass and firing a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle off the far post and in.
The Blue Jackets, now 2-2-0, did not fade. Cole Sillinger tied the score 3-3 at 6:51 of the third after Binnington allowed a rebound on Charlie Coyle’s sharp-angle attempt. Sillinger collected the puck in the slot and finished before the Blues reclaimed the night through Berggren.
Greaves made 22 saves for Columbus, but St. Louis produced the decisive crease pressure late and left Enterprise Center with a needed win.
