ST. LOUIS – Neither the Flyers nor the Blues had played in six days and took turns looking like a team coming off a long layoff.
In the end, the Blues came out on top, 6-3, putting the ebb-and-flow game away with back-to-back goals in a minute, 20-second span of the third period. First, David Perron scored from Colton Parayko to tie the score 3-3 at 5:53, then Scottie Upshall tipped past Steve Mason a point shot from Joel Edmundson at 7:13.
Robby Fabbri added a third for good measure with 4:59 to play and an empty-netter with 2:56 left for his first-career hat trick.
The flurry came after Brayden Schenn put the Flyers ahead 3-2, scoring off the rush from Shayne Gostisbehere on a power play at 4:13. The Flyers also led at 1-0, but the Blues led at 2-1 and when it counted at game’s end.
The loss dropped the Flyers’ record to 20-13- 4 for 44 points, in the second wild card of the Eastern Conference. They dropped to 1-3-1 since their 10-game winning streak, and fell to 8-8-1 on the road, against one of the league’s better home teams.
Tic-tac-toe
The Flyers scored a pretty goal for the game’s first, a tic-tac-toe job at 3:25 of the first period. Schenn dipsy-doodled on the right wing and fed Travis Konecny in the left slot, and Konecny touched the puck to Wayne Simmonds at the right crease for the easy tap-in.
NHL
Penalties
In the dumb penalty department, Blues right winger Ryan Reaves negated a power play after Chris VandeVelde tripped him, taking a retaliatory slash from the seat of his pants at 9:11 of the first period. Not to be outdone, the Flyers took back-to-back penalties (Claude Giroux for holding and Roman Lyubimov for hooking) before the end of the period, then gave up back-to-back goals on the ensuing power plays (Kevin Shattenkirk at 15:01 and Fabbri at 19:48). The Blues were 2 of 4 with the man-advantage; the Flyers were 1 of 3.
Bobby Orr redux
Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo carried the puck end to end, starting behind his net and stick-handling up the gut through four penalty killers before getting off a backhand.
Mason stopped the shot, but Parayko sent the rebound to Fabbri to light the red lamp with a slapper past Mason’s glove hand.
It’s a game of … feet
Nick Cousins was so obviously onside, you gotta wonder why Blues coach Ken Hitchcock bothered to challenge his goal at 4:32 in the second period. The puck was at least a foot in the attacking zone on Sean Couturier’s rush, and Cousins was still dragging his skate across the blue line. Cousins ultimately was credited with a goal, as he deflected Lyubimov’s wrister from the left point, and the puck bounced in off Blues defender Carl Gunnarson.
Goalie report
After getting yanked in the final game before the break, Mason returned to the crease for the start. He worked up a bit of a sweat as the Blues doubled the Flyers in shots on goal through two periods, but most were of the not-threatening type. He faced little pressure in the third … except the Blues scored three times on three shots through 15 minutes to put away the game.
Backup Carter Hutton made a rare appearance between the pipes for the Blues, starting for the eighth time this season and appearing in just his 12th game (of the Blues’ 36). He faced only nine shots through two periods but earned his paycheck in the third.
Scratches
Defensemen Brandon Manning (healthy) and Mark Streit (left shoulder), forwards Michael Raffl (right knee), Matt Read (oblique pull) and Boyd Gordon (healthy) and goalie Michal Neuvirth (left knee).
Up next
After an off-day practice in St. Louis on Friday, the Flyers jet to San Jose and play the Sharks at 10 p.m. on Saturday in the second of a three-game, post-Christmas trip.
They play at 8 p.m. New Year’s Day in Anaheim before returning home to meet the New York Rangers on Wednesday.