ST. LOUIS - With enough ammunition to roast his team after Friday night's 4-3 overtime loss to Calgary at Scottrade Center, Blues coach Andy Murray decided to take a different approach.
Mike Cammalleri scored the game-winner with 2 minutes, 39 seconds left in OT for the Flames, who trailed the Blues 3-1 and 2-0, but Murray wouldn't allow himself to ignite in the postgame locker room scene.
"The bottom line is that we played a team that's supposed to be a Stanley Cup contender tooth and nail," Murray said. "I refused to let (his players) talk about the negative. We know some things we can correct, but right now, we need every single point we can get. We realize there's 82 games and there will be 82 battles for us. Nothing was going to come easy to us.
"We can sit and whine about being up 2-0 and letting it slide, or taking unnecessary penalties. " A penalty-killing group that has been very good for us up to this point this season hasn't gotten the job done the last few games. I'm hard on them in most cases. But I don't have time to think about what we didn't do well tonight. I've got to get our guys focused on what we need to do well (Saturday against Phoenix). The guys themselves know. Tonight, they all know and (everybody) knows what happened in the third period there."
Cammalleri's 10th goal this season was the extension of a horrid third period for the Blues, who were 6-0 when leading after two periods going into Friday's game. But two legitimate penalties and two Calgary power-play goals helped change that.
The Blues hurt themselves with third-period penalties in Wednesday's 4-0 loss at Minnesota, and they did it again Friday.
Defenseman Roman Polak was whistled for high-sticking just 21 seconds into the third period, and Jarome Iginla answered with his 13th goal of the season on the power play for a 3-2 Flames deficit.
Moments later, on a play that was headed for an icing call, Blues forward David Backes was nailed with a boarding call on Mark Giordano, crunching the Flames defenseman as the whistle blew.
"There's two things there " I don't think David Backes knew it was icing," Murray said. "And Giordano stopped skating, when we watched the tape, about five feet from the goal. I don't know if David even thought it was icing. But David can't go there " he's got to ease up there."
Said Backes: "If I'd known it was icing, I wouldn't have finished the guy. I don't hear anything, it's a race for the puck " if I don't hit the guy and it's not icing, I probably don't play the rest of the game."
The Blues' 3-1 lead, which Backes helped build with his fifth goal of the season in the first period, was erased as David Moss scored on the ensuing power play for a 3-3 score.
Still the Blues, who were two for five on the power play Friday with goals from Patrik Berglund and Brad Boyes, had chances in the third period. David Perron missed wide on at least two open shots. He finished with five shots on goal and three missed shots.
The Blues didn't register a shot on goal in overtime before Cammalleri ended the game.
What started as a 2-on-1 with Cammalleri and Iginla ended with Cammalleri sending a wrist shot over a sliding Eric Brewer and past goalie Chris Mason. Dion Phaneuf assisted on the goal, giving him four assists in the game.
"(Cammalleri) just snapped it and I just stood up," Mason said. "I knew he was going to shoot high. I was still moving when he shot it and it just beat me right under the arm."
Murray was surprised to see the goal go in.
"I think 'Mas' was too," Murray said. "Chris has played well for us and I'm sure that's one he'd like to have back."
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(c) 2008, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Distributed by Mclatchy-Tribune News Service.
