VANCOUVER (AP)- Justin Faulk had a goal and an assist and the St. Louis Blues smack no.Louis defeated the undermanned Vancouver Canucks en route to a 3-1 victory Sunday.
Brayden Schenn, on a second power play, and Jordan Kyrou also homered for the Blues (25-11-5), while Vladimir Tarasenko recorded two assists.
Tanner Pearson scored the lone goal for the Canucks (18-19-4), who have six players and two assistant coaches in the NHL’s recent time protocol.
St. Louis got stellar goalie de ville Husso, who stopped 38-of-39 shots and has a .963 save percentage in his last five games.
Michael DiPietro made 14 saves in his season debut for Vancouver and became the fourth goaltender to play for the team this season.
Canucks All-Star Thatcher Demko, Backup Jaroslav Halak and Taxi Squad Netminder Spencer Martin are all in the NHL’s recent time protocol alongside forwards Bo Horvat, Conor Garland and JT Miller. Assistant coaches Scott Walker and Kyle Gustafson were added to the Roster Sunday.
Abbotsford Canucks’ Arturs Silovs The AHL also tested positive for the Virus and forced Vancouver to sign University of British Columbia goaltender Rylan Toth to an Amateur tryout contract so he could play DiPietro’s backup role.
Down 3-1 with less than 90 seconds left on the music box, the Canucks pulled DiPietro in favor of an extra forward.
Tarasenko nearly scored an empty-netter, but was fouled by a trio of Canucks who didn’t want to score another goal.
Kyrou papered over St. Louis 16: 43 in the second period to send a rocket at a stroke through traffic. The puck appeared to be dangling from the rod of DiPietro’s stick and in.
Both Faulk and Tarasenko attended the match. Tarasenko has scored points in his last nine games, with six goals and nine assists on the trail.
He also assisted on the power-play goal that gave the Blues a 2-1 lead early in the second half after the Canucks asked for too many men.
Tarasenko cut a pass to Schenn, who was stationed at the back gate. Schenn pushed it for his ninth goal of the year.
Saint. Louis was 1 for 3 on Powerplay Sunday, while Vancouver went scoreless on four occasions with the man advantage.
Faulk moved from St. Louis before the first Break. Oskar Sundqvist made a pass to Faulk at the front of the net and the defenseman deflected it between his legs and sent the puck over the crossbar and into the 18:33 mark.
Two Blues had just come out of the box when the Canucks scored the game’s first goal 16:30 into the first period.
Matthew Highmore from Vancouver tangled with Ivan Barbashev and Torey Krug in the territory of St.Louis. Barbashev was called for the draft and the jug to remove Highmore’s helmet.
Vancouver made five shots on the next five-on-three power play, but Husso turned them all away. When the penalties expired, Pearson took Alex Chiasson’s rebound to the side of the net and fired it over the goalie.
Elias Pettersson recorded an assist in the game and scored the 100th goal of the game. his NHL career.
Sunday was a milestone for Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau, who coached his 1,000 th NHL game.
Posted by Vancouver on Dec. 5, the 67-year-old former NHL center has worked behind the bench for the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild. In he won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s top coach after leading the restless Caps through a rebounding campaign.
Boudreau’s wife, Crystal, and two of his children, were in the crowd Sunday when the stage was marked by a video homage before the Puck Drop. Some of the coach’s former players-including Marcus Foligno, Alex Ovechkin and Kevin Bieksa — and colleagues like Stan Bowman sent congratulatory messages. Boudreau seemed emotional on the bench.
The Blues face the Flames on Monday in Calgary. The Canucks wrap up a three-game homestand when they host the Oilers on Tuesday.
Notes: Pavel Buchnevich did not travel to Vancouver with his Blues teammates. The left winger was brought back by the recent time to play 5-0 against the Seattle Kraken on Friday at St.Louis, but was unable to cross the border with Canada because he had tested positive for the Virus in the last 10 days. … Sunday was the first time the two teams have played since Jan. 27, when the Canucks smack the Blues 3-1 in Vancouver.
