ST. LOUIS — Troy Terry scored his second goal of the game on a penalty shot in overtime to give the Anaheim Ducks a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night.
"He’s done that, I mean, quite a few times in practice, so, you know I think he’s the guy that you’d want up in that situation," Ducks goalie Anthony Stolarz said. “He's proven time and time again that he’s a big-time player. He's a massive force and he gets that game-tying goal and then bears for one in overtime.”
Scott Perunovich was called for slashing with just over a minute remaining in overtime, giving Terry a penalty shot. He beat fifth-string goalie Jon Gillies on a backhander at 3:58 of the extra period for his team-leading 17th goal of the season.
Terry showed forehand as he cut in on his left before he pulled it to his backhand. He roofed the shot to end the game.
“I kind of decided that, you know, that once I kind of made that first fake and where it was I just, I knew I had to commit to whatever I did,” Terry said. “And once I kind of made that switch, I just tried to commit to it.”
Perunovich is young and will learn from the mistake, Blues coach Craig Berube said.
“He’s got to be a little bit more cautious and understand the situation a little bit better,” Berube said. “He’s young, he’s learning on the fly in the NHL and sometimes there’s going to be mistakes.”
Gillies guessed wrong on Terry's plan.
“Honestly, I thought he was going to go up high,” Gillies said. “That’s the way it goes, I wish I could have made the stop for Scottie because he’s played a fantastic game.”
Buddy Robinson also scored for Anaheim, which ended the Blues' seven-game home winning streak. Stolarz made 23 saves.
“I just go out there every day and work hard and do my best to keep the team in every game,” Stolarz said.
Nathan Walker and Oskar Sundqvist scored for St. Louis. Gillies finished with 36 saves. Brayden Schenn, who had two assists, left the game in the third period with an upper-body injury and did not return. Berube said Schenn will be day to day.
The game was tied at 1-all through two periods, and each team scored in the third.
Walker, who had a hat trick in Thursday’s win over Detroit, scored on a wrist shot from the top of the slot at 7:40 of the third.
Anaheim tied it at 2-all when Terry scored on a rebound of a shot by Cam Fowler at 13:29.
The 27-year-old Gillies was signed by the Blues on Wednesday. He became the fifth starting goalie this season for St. Louis, joining Jordan Binnington, Ville Husso, Joel Hofer and Charlie Lindgren. It was the first time the Blues have used five goaltenders in a season since 2015-16.
Gillies' last NHL start came April 7, 2018, with Calgary when the Flames defeated Vegas 7-1. Gillies has played only 10 games, all in the minors, since the 2019-20 season.
“Nice to play a hockey game,” Gillies said. “Obviously, the gap between starts in this league in particular was obviously much, much bigger than I thought that it was going to be. But the belief never wavered. I know that I can be very successful in this league. So from a personal standpoint, it was just kind of nice to be back is the best way to put it. ”
St. Louis took advantage of a 2-on-1 break to tie the game at 1-all in the second period. Sundqvist scored his first of the season at 6:43. Schenn started the play with a crisp cross-ice pass to Walker. Skating in with Fowler trying to cover both Blues, Walker fed Sundqvist, who netted a wrist shot.
The Ducks went up 1-0 when Robinson knocked in a rebound of a shot by Nicolas Deslauriers at 12:32 of the opening period. It was Robinson’s first goal this season and third in his five-year career.
Due to injuries and COVID issues, the Blues were forced to dress six players that began the season with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL. Charlie Lindgren, Peca, Joshua, Logan Brown, Walker and Scott Perunovich make up the Springfield connection.
“I don’t think tonight’s game was a great one,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “I think it ended like with a lot of flair and until no more time and a penalty shot. All that stuff is, I think, great for the game but I really did think that our guys were were battling. You know, St. Louis is beat up. Hey, we will take the points or we can get them.”
