For the third straight game, the St. Louis Blues found a way. On Thursday at Enterprise Center, it took every bit of 64 minutes and 57 seconds, but Dylan Holloway delivered the kind of moment that Blues fans will replay for years — a backhander with three seconds left in overtime that lifted St. Louis to a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
St. Louis Blues on X (formerly Twitter): “WHAT. A. WINNER. pic.twitter.com/BOIFvcYwYF / X”
WHAT. A. WINNER. pic.twitter.com/BOIFvcYwYF
The Blues improved to 30-30-11 and extended their winning streak to three games. The Sharks, now 32-31-7, dropped their sixth consecutive contest (0-5-1).
The game followed a familiar script for a Blues team that has made a habit of grinding out results lately. The first period was scoreless, with Joel Hofer turning aside all nine shots he faced. St. Louis seized the lead late in the second when Dalibor Dvorsky wired a snap shot past Sharks starter Yaroslav Askarov at 17:19, with Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud drawing the assists. It was the kind of opportunistic tally that has defined the Blues’ recent surge.
San Jose answered early in the third. Alexander Wennberg beat Hofer with a wrister at 5:04, set up by William Eklund and Kiefer Sherwood, and the game settled into a tense deadlock. The Sharks’ top line generated chances, but Hofer was equal to the task, finishing with 24 saves on 25 shots and posting a .960 save percentage in what has become another stellar season between the pipes for the young netminder.
Overtime belonged to the Blues from the moment the puck dropped — or, more precisely, from the moment it nearly ended the wrong way. With the extra frame winding down, Macklin Celebrini fed Dmitry Orlov in the slot. Orlov’s wrist shot sailed wide, but Phillip Broberg pounced on the loose puck behind the net and rifled a long outlet pass up the left wing. Holloway, flying down the ice, caught up to it, cut in front of the net, and roofed a backhand past Alex Nedeljkovic, who had entered after Askarov left with an apparent injury.
The Enterprise Center, already loud, detonated. Holloway, who also assisted on Dvorsky’s goal, was named the game’s first star. Hofer took second, and defenseman Logan Mailloux earned third for anchoring a blue line that limited San Jose to just 23 shots on goal overall.
It was the sort of resilient, late-game heroics that Blues fans have come to expect lately. St. Louis controlled play when it mattered most, outshooting the Sharks 11-6 in the second period and refusing to wilt after the tie. For a team still battling for playoff positioning in the Central Division, nights like this feel like momentum made tangible.
The Blues will look to keep the good times rolling Saturday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sharks, meanwhile, head to Columbus hoping to snap their skid.
