Blues jump into wild-card spot with OT win against Sharks

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues moved into the first Western Conference wild card with a 3-2 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks at Scottrade Center on Tuesday.

Vladimir Tarasenko scored 2:33 into overtime to give the Blues (43-28-5) a season-high sixth straight win. They have the same number of points as the Los Angeles Kings and one more than the Colorado Avalanche in the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Four of the Blues' wins during the streak have come in overtime.
WATCH: [All Sharks vs. Blues highlights]
"We just know we need the points," Blues center Brayden Schenn said. "We're getting good saves at key times, guys are playing defense, guys are stepping up, and then when we get the puck, we're going on the attack because we know we need the extra point."

The Sharks (44-23-10) had won eight in a row, which was tied for the third-longest streak in their history.
Aaron Dell made 29 saves for San Jose, which is five points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division having played one more game.
The Sharks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in a shootout Monday.
"I think it's our fifth game in eight nights tonight, so I was real proud of our group," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "A short bench, [forward Barclay] Goodrow went down a minute in, so I think he played for a minute. So we had a lot of factors going. I thought the guys dug deep and found a way to get a valuable point."

Vladimir Sobotka won a puck battle with Mikkel Boedker behind the Sharks net, and then fought off Justin Braun before making a backhand pass to Tarasenko through the crease. Tarasenko was able to score from a sharp angle.
"[Sobotka] is a strong guy and smart too," Tarasenko said. "It's always fun to play on the ice with him. Being with him on the 3-on-3, obviously great play and great pass."
Joe Pavelski scored a power-play goal, his 20th goal of the season, to give San Jose a 2-1 lead at 7:07 of the second period. Tarasenko tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal, his 30th goal of the season, at 12:03.
Evander Kane put San Jose up 1-0 at 6:26 of the first period. It was his 14th point in 14 games since joining the Sharks on Feb. 26 after being acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres.

Sundqvist tied it 1-1 at 17:43. It was his first goal with the Blues in his 37th game, and second of his NHL career.
"Finally, that's what I thought," Sundqvist said. "I actually didn't see it go in before [Ivan] Barbashev raised his arms. It's always nice. It's been a long time since I scored."

Goal of the game

Tarasenko's goal at 2:33 of overtime.

Save of the game

Dell's save on Schenn at 1:39 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Tarasenko's goal at 12:03 of the second period.

They said it

"He's a good player. I thought he was going to go short side but he went far side and just made a good shot." -- Sharks goalie Aaron Dell on Vladimir Tarasenko's game-winning goal
"It's a desperate team on home ice, so definitely proud of the guys for hanging tough. We realized it's not going to be run and gun in the offensive zone all year long, so guys hung tough, blocked a few shots, and Dell made a lot of great saves for us and kept us in it. We would have liked to have a little better push too, but that's the way it went, and we get to overtime. We definitely deserved to get the extra point." -- Sharks center Joe Pavelski
"I didn't know what to do. Just a relief. It's been a long time." -- Blues center Oskar Sundqvist on his goal celebration

Need to know

Jake Allen made 22 saves for St. Louis and is 8-1-0 in his past nine starts. … Brent Burns, who had an assist on each San Jose goal, became the first Sharks defenseman to reach 50 in a season; he has 51 after 47 and 48 the past two seasons. … Goodrow sustained an upper-body injury in the first period and played 1:56. ... Sundqvist's goal was his first in 53 games; he scored April 2, 2016 with the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Islanders. ... Tarasenko has scored at least 30 goals in four straight seasons, the first Blues player to do that since Brett Hull in six straight seasons (1988-94). … The Sharks won nine in a row from Nov. 13 to Dec. 4, 2008 and 11 in a row from Feb. 21 to March 14, 2008.

What's next

Sharks: At the Nashville Predators on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Blues: At the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday (10:30 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, FS-MW, NHL.TV)