Blues beat Capitals to snap 3-game skid, lose Torey Krug to injury

Ravaged by accidents and different absences all season, the St. Louis Blues could must fill one other large void within the lineup.

They put collectively a powerful 60-minute effort to beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 Tuesday night time and snap a three-game skid, however misplaced defenseman Torey Krug to an obvious left hand or wrist damage.

Krug left the sport within the second interval after getting slashed by Nick Jensen and didn’t return. Krug, after getting slashed, skated the remainder of the shift holding his stick solely in his proper hand earlier than going to the bench.

“It’s irritating,” mentioned captain Ryan O’Reilly, who scored a power-play aim. “Clearly he’s an enormous a part of our group. … Hopefully a speedy restoration and he’ll be again quickly. However it’s all the time robust.”

Coach Craig Berube refused to say something greater than Krug left with an upper-body damage. His group was already lacking winger Rob Thomas to damage and Vladimir Tarasenko for a second consecutive recreation due to an sickness.

Krug taking place seems like simply one other impediment for St. Louis to beat.

“We’ve executed all of it 12 months,” Berube mentioned. “No completely different. It’s the way in which it’s. What are you going to do?”

Ideally the Blues hold placing in performances like that to maintain tempo in a decent Central Division playoff race. They left Washington with an essential victory because of a aim and an help from Brandon Saad and Brayden Schenn, the game-winner from Nathan Walker hours after he was referred to as up and 19 saves from Ville Husso.

David Perron added an empty-netter to increase his goal-scoring streak to seven video games. Each aim however Perron’s was scored in tight across the web, which was some extent of emphasis getting in.

“We needed to ensure we had been attending to the online, making it robust on the goalie and we needed pucks there,” O’Reilly mentioned. “I believed we did a very good job of that. We had a mindset of taking pictures and going to the online onerous and received some good bounces that we put away. That’s the urgency we want.”

Because of a collection of turnovers and defensive zone miscues, the Capitals misplaced a second consecutive recreation in regulation to fall to 7-2-1 in March. Tom Wilson had a aim and an help, Evgeny Kuznetsov scored and Vitek Vanecek allowed 4 targets on 37 pictures.

“In all three zones, we weren’t ok,” Capitals middle Nicklas Backstrom mentioned. “It begins from the again finish and we weren’t ok there after which a whole lot of turnovers and a whole lot of odd-man rushes. So, I believe that’s an space that we’ve received to scrub up too if we need to be an important group.”

In a matchup of the 2018 and 2019 Stanley Cup champions, all six targets had been scored by a participant who has hoisted hockey’s hallowed trophy.

Walker, who gained the Cup with the Capitals 4 years in the past after they drafted him in 2014, was solely within the Blues lineup due to a mix of damage, sickness, the wage cap and a transfer made earlier than the commerce deadline Monday. The one Australian participant in league historical past, Walker scored within the NHL for the primary time since Dec. 12 — his fifth aim of the season after a hat trick Dec. 9.

“He’s been excellent all 12 months for us, the way in which he is available in and simply buzzes and makes an affect,” O’Reilly mentioned. “That was an enormous aim simply going to the online onerous and getting rewarded for it. All 12 months he is available in, makes an affect for us, offers good life, good power.”

There is likely to be a chance to stay round for Walker, who matches the altering identification of the Blues as extra of a talented, high-scoring pressure than the knock-down, drag-out group that wore down opponents on the way in which to the franchise’s first title three years in the past.

Kuznetsov prolonged his career-best level streak to 10 video games. Wilson matched his single-season profession excessive with 44 factors with 15 video games remaining earlier than the playoffs.

The Capitals are heading there within the East, and the Blues are in sturdy place within the West. Every group plugged a brand new participant — one a well-recognized face — into the lineup after making strikes on the commerce deadline.

Defenseman Nick Leddy made his Blues debut, going from the rebuilding Purple Wings proper into the thick of a playoff race.

Marcus Johansson performed his first recreation in a Capitals uniform for the reason that 2017 playoffs after they received him from Seattle for one-dimensional ahead Daniel Sprong, a fourth-round choose this summer time and a sixth in 2023. Johansson performed his first seven NHL seasons with Washington earlier than being traded.

NOTES: Every group dressed 11 forwards and 7 defenseman. … Washington solely had 11 wholesome forwards on the roster as a result of winger T.J. Oshie (lower-body damage) was out for a 3rd consecutive recreation and middle Nic Dowd (higher) missed his second in a row. … Tarasenko missed a second consecutive recreation with an sickness.

UP NEXT

Blues: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night time.

Capitals: Go to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night time.