Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn, and Nathan Walker each found the net in the third period, leading the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Sunday.
Kasperi Kapanen also scored for the Blues, while Joel Hofer made 19 saves to improve his record to 15-12-1.
“For me, it was all about the fans, making sure that we played for the fans tonight, getting the win so the fans can go home happy,” interim Blues coach Drew Bannister said. “I think that was the No. 1 thing for us here — to ensure we do the right things for the fans.”
Jared McCann scored the lone goal for the Kraken, and Joey Daccord made 25 saves, but his record slipped to 18-18-11.
“I thought we played really well. We generated some good looks,” Daccord said. “Their goalie made some good saves. It was a pretty good effort from our group tonight.”
The Blues, eliminated from postseason contention on Friday, improved to 43-33-5 with one regular-season game remaining.
“Obviously, after the last game, when we’re out of the playoffs, it’s tough, right? You can’t really regroup from that in like two days,” Kyrou said. “We’ve been working all year trying to make that. It’s tough not being able to make the playoffs.”
St. Louis went 7-0-0 in Sunday games this season, the most wins without a loss in Sunday contests. The Blues are 7-2 against Seattle since the expansion team joined the league in 2021-22.
Seattle, with two games remaining, fell to 33-34-13.
“We had good energy, and we started the game well,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We gave up that late goal in the first period, which gave them some energy. They got the early one there in the third. That obviously set the tone for the third there.”
Kyrou gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead with his goal 59 seconds into the third period. Daccord saved Matthew Kessel’s shot from the point, but the long rebound went to Kyrou in the slot. It was Kyrou’s 31st goal of the season, and he has 10 goals and seven assists in his last 12 games.
Schenn added an insurance goal at 16:37, scoring off Daccord’s skate for his 20th of the season.
Walker sealed the win with an unassisted empty-net goal at 19:00.
Both teams scored in the first period.
McCann took the puck from Marco Scandella at the St. Louis blue line, raced down the right side, and snapped the puck past Hofer, scoring unassisted at 14:24. It was his second goal since March 5 and 29th of the season.
“Scoring 30 goals, it doesn’t mean anything,” McCann said. “It’s obviously great scoring goals, but I want to be in the playoffs. I want to play for something.”
Kapanen tied the game with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle at 18:18. His shot hit Daccord’s arm and trickled in for the goal.
“I feel like throughout the year, I probably would have pulled up and tried to make a pass or something else,” Kapanen said. “So I thought I’d try shooting it for a change, and it went in.”
UP NEXT:
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Kraken: At Winnipeg on Tuesday.
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Blues: At Dallas on Wednesday.
