• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Ducks down Blues on Bonino's SO goal

Feb 10, 2013 - 7:43 AM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Nick Bonino scored the game-winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout to lift the Anaheim Ducks to a 6-5 comeback victory over the struggling St. Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center.

Bobby Ryan totaled two goals and two assists in regulation for Anaheim, which battled back from a 3-1 deficit after one period to bounce back from Friday's 3-1 loss at Dallas. Teemu Selanne registered three helpers in addition to a goal, with Saku Koivu contributing a goal and an assist to the rally.

"It was a good character win, especially from [the loss] last night," said Selanne. "It's good to bounce back like that."

Viktor Fasth made 26 saves through the first three periods and overtime, then turned aside three of St. Louis' six skaters in the shootout to improve to 5-0-0 on the season and help the Ducks notch their fifth win in six games.

Alexander Steen and Chris Stewart each had a goal and two assists in the loss, St. Louis' fourth in a row (0-3-1), while David Backes finished with a goal and an assist.

Backes also potted the apparent game-winning score with 22.2 seconds remaining in overtime, but the goal was waved off when Patrik Berglund was called for goaltender interference.

Brian Elliott stopped 18-of-23 shots in regulation and overtime for the Blues.

"Not playing very good. Not much I can say ... not playing very good," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said of Elliott's play. "He'd be the first to tell you too. He's got to play better. If Jaro's not ready, then we'll play Jake Monday."

Koivu gave the Ducks a 5-4 lead with 6:19 left in the third period, with the veteran ripping a shot over Elliott's right shoulder off a feed from Ryan on a 3-on-2 Anaheim rush, but a cross checking penalty on Ryan Getzlaf less than a minute later enabled St. Louis to draw even and set up a frantic finish.

Stewart made the Ducks pay by banging in a rebound of a shot by Steen with 4:34 remaining in regulation, and the game would linger into overtime after neither team came up with a serious scoring chance over the duration of the final frame.

The extra session was mostly uneventful until Backes beat Fasth with a wrister with time winding down, but the goal was immediately negated when Berglund contacted the Anaheim goaltender while camped in the crease.

Koivu scored in the second round of the shootout to put Anaheim ahead 1-0 in the phase, but David Perron put in a backhander to keep the Blues alive and Elliott made a glove save on Ryan to extend it.

Stewart then deked Fasth to send the Blues back in front, but Corey Perry blasted the puck by Elliott to move the shootout to a fifth round, in which both Steen and Getzlaf scored to force another wave.

Berglund missed the net on the ensuing try for St. Louis, giving Bonino the chance to win it for the Ducks. And that he did by executing a nice fake and putting the puck between Elliott's pads.

"It was a huge win for us, and it's nice to get the winner," said Bonino.

Down 3-1 after one period, Anaheim came roaring back with a strong second in which the Ducks erupted for three goals within a span of less than two minutes.

Selanne began the barrage with 6:20 left in the session. Left alone near the right post, the veteran sniper snuck a loose puck past a diving Elliott after Koivu had his shot blocked in front.

Just 45 seconds later, Bonino sent a rolling puck to Andrew Cogliano on the right side that the Anaheim forward slid under Elliott's skate to knot the score at 3-3.

Ryan then gave Anaheim its first lead after taking in a nifty centering feed from Selanne and skating in and rifling a shot past Elliott with 5:39 left in the stanza.

"We talked about not to be sluggish in the first period, but I don't know what happened," said Selanne. "But in the second and third we were moving our legs and forechecking and we got some momentum."

The Blues would pull even 3:21 into the third period when T.J. Oshie snuck a backhander by a startled Fasth.

St. Louis started out strong, controlling most of the early action and drawing a power play just over five minutes in when the Ducks' Emerson Etem was sent off for a tripping call.

The Blues would capitalize when Steen's snap shot from 45 feet out went through the five-hole of Fasth for a 1-0 St. Louis lead with 6:21 elapsed in the opening period.

Ryan tied it less than five minutes later on his first score of the night, with the big winger rushing up the right side after a giveaway from St. Louis defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and firing a wrister that beat Elliott stick-side on Anaheim's initial shot of the contest.

St. Louis would strike more before the intermission, however, to build a two- goal advantage entering the break.

Backes put the Blues back in front with 4:30 to go in the frame, with the St. Louis captain flicking the puck past a screened Fasth after the Ducks blocked Alex Pietrangelo's first attempt. Perron made it a 3-1 game with just 34 seconds remaining, coming in uncontested from the left side and knocking in a juicy rebound Fasth left on Shattenkirk's shot from the right point.

Game Notes

Shattenkirk and Andy McDonald both had two assists for St. Louis, with Francois Beauchemin recording a pair of helpers for the Ducks ... Fasth became only the second netminder in Anaheim history to win his first five starts with the club. Ray Emery won his first six starts in 2010-11 ... The Blues, who came into the game atop the league in power-play percentage, converted both their chances with the man advantage ... Anaheim has now given up a league- high 16 goals in the first period this season ... The Ducks had lost five straight at the Scottrade Center since a 4-3 shootout win on Jan. 23, 2010 ... Anaheim recalled goaltender Jeff Deslauriers from Norfolk prior to the game to back up Fasth, as Jonas Hiller sustained a lower-body injury in Friday's loss to the Stars.