RECAP: Talbot sharp, but Red Wings fall in overtime at Blues, 2-1

ST. LOUIS -- Goalie Cam Talbot impressed against the hottest club in the NHL, finishing with 35 saves, but the Detroit Red Wings had to settle for just one point in a 2-1 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Tuesday night.

“We played a really good road game for a long time,” J.T. Compher said. “[Talbot] played out of his mind and gave us a chance to win. They were able to squeeze one in late and steal that second point away from us.”

Compher scored the lone goal for the Red Wings (34-33-7; 75 points), who are four points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild-Card spot. Also sharp in the opposite crease was goaltender Jordan Binnington, whose 20 saves helped the Blues (41-28-7; 89 points) win their 10th consecutive game and move one point ahead of the Minnesota Wild for the Western Conference’s first Wild-Card spot.

“We know what’s at stake,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “It’s not the fact that we gave up a point to an opponent, it’s just that we didn’t get the point. After starting slow in the night, [Talbot] kept us in it and we worked our way back in…We just couldn’t find a way to hit the open net at the other end or just finish the night. It’s disappointing, but the effort was pretty good tonight. We were on the short end of the points. We’ve got to suck it up and get going at home now.”

Talbot, who was a big part of the Red Wings’ tight win against the Boston Bruins three nights ago, impressively flashed the leather just 1:20 into Tuesday's game when he made a diving glove save on Pavel Buchnevich on a 3-on-1 rush to prevent St. Louis from taking an early lead.

The Red Wings' penalty kill also played a big role in keeping the Blues off the scoreboard in the first period, killing off both penalties it faced.

“I thought we did a good job on their entries and tried to pressure them as fast as they entered,” Mortiz Seider said about his club's penalty kill, which ended the night 3-for-3. “We had good positioning, let [Talbot] see the puck and just tried to keep everything to the outside."

Like the first period, neither club lit the lamp in the second.

Breaking the stalemate for Detroit, Compher received a cross-crease pass from Jonatan Berggren and buried it into a wide-open cage to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at 5:13 of the third period.

Vladimir Tarasenko, who played his first 11 NHL seasons in St. Louis, recorded the secondary assist on Compher’s ninth goal of the season.

“We played on our toes,” Seider said when asked what the message was on the bench following Compher’s third-period tally. “We still kept ourselves in the forecheck and were hunting down St. Louis.”

After pulling Binnington for the extra skater at 16:37 of the third period, the Blues tied it with 29 seconds to play in regulation when Jordan Kyrou got the puck through Talbot’s pads to make it 1-1.

"We had numerous clears and didn't get it at the net," McLellan said. "They made a good play, a deflection that was nowhere near the net, and you can't cover everything. They threaded the needle and it went in."

In the extra session, Cam Fowler took a pass from Robert Thomas and skated towards the net before finishing a backhand at 3:27 to complete the comeback effort for St. Louis.

“I thought it was a great game,” Seider said. “Two really good teams and two really good goaltenders tonight. I thought [Talbot] really played on top of his head and helped us out here to give ourselves a chance…I thought we contained them pretty well. Hopefully, that one point will be huge and looking back that’ll be a big one. But obviously, it’s really hard realizing that now because it feels like you lost one.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes will conclude their season series at Little Caesars Arena on Friday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

McLellan on avoiding deflating feelings following Tuesday’s end result

“We can either feel sorry for ourselves, which I don’t think is a great option, or we can get right back after it. We have no choice. It’s not like we’re in the middle of the season and can take the time to pout a little bit. We don’t have that. We get on the plane, go home and get ready. We have a couple tough games coming up with Carolina and Florida [Panthers] at home. We know they’re really important, and with this type of effort we’ll give ourselves an opportunity to win.”

Compher on moving past the sting of pocketing only one point on Tuesday

“There’s no time. We got a couple days to refocus and then it’s back at it. We’ll keep fighting for our lives, like we’ve been doing.”

Compher on the Blues

“That’s a really good hockey team playing really good at the moment. We gave ourselves a chance to get two points, but we came up short. No one has beat them [in the nine games prior] and we gave ourselves a really good chance tonight.”

Seider on Talbot's play helping the Red Wings feel some confidence as of late

“Obviously, that’s more frustrating if you can’t get it done for him. He’s playing unreal and giving us at least a chance every night to stay in the fight.”