The well had run dry for Brandon Saad in recent games when the St. Louis Blues forward was relegated to the lineup by coach Drew Bannister.
And in the last game, a 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins, Saad, who averaged almost double what he played that game, didn’t even manage nine minutes (8: 57) and had two presences in the third period. of a match that the Blues squandered a 2-0 lead.
But Saad moved back into the top six, playing with Brayden Schenn and Dylan Holloway, and did what he does best: stay around the net and score twice, his first goals in 10 games, in a 4-game loss. -3 in overtime against the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday at KeyBank Center.
Saad, who entered the game with two goals (both scored on Oct. 22 in a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets), scored two proverbial fat goals.
His first came on a play he started, sending a puck behind the net, then pushing Owen Power back along the right wall and beating the Sabers defenseman to the net to give the Blues a 1-0 lead at 3:13 of the first. period.
Saad then took advantage of the chaos up front after Dylan Holloway’s shot went off Brayden Schenn in the slot, and as it rounded the net, the puck found Saad’s stick at 17:15 of the second period to give the Blues a 3-2 lead:
Saad scored two goals at 5v5, something the Blues have been lacking of late and his line was the best of the game for the Blues.
Saad finished with a +2 differential with seven shot attempts (four on goal) in 17:31 of ice time.
One honorable mention that deserves praise tonight is defenseman Ryan Suter, who, at nearly 40 years old, played a whopping 33:06 tonight, marking the first time since March 5, 2019 that the defenseman has scored more than 30 minutes during the regular season. game with the Minnesota Wild against the Nashville Predators. And it’s his most regular season games since he logged 33:10 with the Wild against the Ottawa Senators on March 15, 2016.
