Thomas, Buchenvich score, Blues come back to beat Kraken 2-1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich scored in the third period as the St. Louis Blues came back to beat the Seattle Kraken 2-1 on Thursday night.

Ville Husso made 31 saves and the Blues extended their home point streak to 13 games, dating to Nov. 18. It is the third-longest stretch in franchise history.

“We knew that they play hard and there’s never easy games when you look at the standings and stuff,” Husso said. “We knew it’s going to be a hard game and everybody played a full 60 minutes. That was good for us.”

Alex Wennberg scored and Chris Driedger made 25 saves for the expansion Kraken, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

“It’s obviously not the way we want it to be,” Wennberg said. “Obviously, we’re finding ways to lose the game. We have the lead right now and again it’s a third period where we give away some goals. I mean, we’ve got to find something here. We’ve got to step up and take responsibility for what’s going on.”

Buchnevich’s power-play goal off a slick no-look pass from Ivan Barbashev at 5:30 of the third period gave St. Louis the lead.

It was the second consecutive third-period comeback for the Blues, who scored twice in the final minute to beat Dallas on Sunday. St. Louis has an NHL-best 13 comeback wins this season.

“Even when we’re down going into the third, we’re pretty confident,” Thomas said. “We started to push our game in the second. … Pretty special group in there that fights back, and then our special teams coming up with big goals.”

Thomas’ goal at 1:29 of the third tied it 1-all. Torey Krug extended his point streak to six games with an assist.

“It’s nice to get the lead, but then when things happen and you get bad bounces or whatever it is, you’ve got to just stay with it and keep pushing,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “I think our guys are good at that. I mean, it’s something we talk about a lot, because if you want to be a real good team, you’ve got to be able to come back in games.”

Wennberg’s fourth of the season gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead with five minutes left in the first period. It broke a 12-game scoring drought for Wennberg going back to Dec. 3.

“Just frustrated,” Driedger said. “You never really feel happy after losing a game. It’s a team effort and I don’t think anyone is satisfied without getting two points. So, we’re just in one of those stretches where we’ve got to figure out a way to win.”

PANDEMIC PLAY

The Blues are without five players due to COVID-19 protocols as F David Perron was added to the list Tuesday. He joined F Vladimir Tarasenko, F Brayden Schenn, D Colton Parayko and D Scott Perunovich.

“We were missing a lot of guys and all the guys who came in … it’s not easy to come in and play,” Husso said. “They played well.”

WELCOME BACK

Kraken D Vince Dunn played his first game back in St. Louis after being selected by Seattle in the expansion draft. Dunn was a second-round pick by the Blues in the 2015 draft and was a part of the franchise’s 2019 Stanley Cup championship team. He was given a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period.

NOTES: Kraken RW Jordan Eberle became the first player for the franchise to be selected to the NHL All-Star Game. … Blues F Jordan Kyrou was selected to his first All-Star Game. … Kraken D Mark Giordano and Blues C Tyler Bozak have the top two career point totals among active players who were undrafted. Giordano has 520 points and Bozak has 456. … Bozak played in his 200th game with the Blues.

UP NEXT

Kraken: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Blues: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

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