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Shorthanded Blues win fourth in row

 
Published Dec. 10, 2017

ST. LOUIS — Vladimir Tarasenko scored with 35 seconds left in overtime, and the Blues, down two key players, beat the Sabres 3-2 Sunday night.

Brayden Schenn and Paul Stastny also scored, and Joel Edmundson recorded two assists as the Blues topped the Sabres for the 10th time in their past 11 meetings. Jake Allen made 22 saves, improving to 5-1 in six career starts against Buffalo.

"I thought we got some pretty good contributions from everybody," coach Mike Yeo said. "All four lines were rolling."

The Blues won their fourth straight despite being without second-leading scorer Jaden Schwartz and top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, taking 58 combined points out of the St. Louis lineup.

Schwartz was put on injured reserve with a right ankle injury suffered against the Red Wings on Saturday, and he will re-evaluated in six weeks. He was tied for ninth in the NHL with 35 points (14 goals) and ranked second with a plus-23 rating through 30 games for the Blues, who host the Lightning on Tuesday. Pietrangelo is day to day with a foot injury.

Evan Rodrigues, playing his third game this season, scored both goals for the Sabres, who have lost six of seven. Robin Lehner made 42 saves.

Game highlights: Corey Crawford made 31 saves, Artem Anisimov scored with 4:47 left in the third period and the host Blackhawks beat the Coyotes 3-1. Tommy Wingels and Nick Schmaltz also scored in the third as Chicago earned its second straight win after dropping five in a row. Anthony Duclair scored for the Coyotes, who have lost four straight and begin a five-game home stand against the Lightning on Thursday. … Curtis McElhinney made 41 saves for his first shutout of the season and sixth overall, and Zach Hyman scored in the first minute in the host Maple Leafs' 1-0 victory over the Oilers. McElhinney made his fifth start of the season, giving starter Frederik Andersen a rest after he played in a 4-3 victory in Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Toronto improved to 20-10-1 and moved within three points of Lightning for the Eastern Conference lead.