The evening's first period belonged to Blues netminder Jordan Binnington, who allowed his team to take an early lead after making several quality stops. Per
NaturalStatTrick.com
, the Canes had five high-danger chances in the first period, two belonging to Jordan Staal, but the Stanley Cup-winning netminder made a pair of five-star saves to keep the visitors off the board.
St. Louis would capitalize on the only power play opportunity of the opening period, giving them a 1-0 advantage before a chaotic second period.
Noel Acciari extended the Blues' lead to 2-0 just 2:31 into the second period and as Binnington continued to string together saves for his club, it felt like Carolina would have their work cut out for them if they wanted to mount a come-from-behind effort.
Instead, within a swift swing of 64 seconds, the Canes found themselves on top 3-2.
Like St. Louis, Rod Brind'Amour's club would make good on their first and only power play of the night, as Brent Burns started the trio of goals for Carolina. With Andrei Svechnikov screening in front, #8 walked across the blue line and fired one through traffic to finally beat Binnington.
Then, just 21 seconds later, Jordan Martinook located an initially blocked Brady Skjei shot to even the contest.
Tying the game at 2-2, the wave of momentum was not complete yet though for Carolina, as Seth Jarvis then sniped one over the shoulder of St. Louis' netminder to give his team their first lead of the night.