SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Nick Schmalz scored twice and assisted on another goal to lead the Utah Mammoths to a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.
Schmaltz currently has 43 points in 40 career games against St. Louis. Lawson Crouse and Sean Durzi also scored to help Utah win its third straight game. Karel Vermelka made 26 saves.
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Oskar Sundqvist and Pavel Buchnevich scored for the Blues, while Joel Hofer made 19 saves. St. Louis lost its fourth straight road game.
Utah got its first possession with 4:50 left in the first quarter when Schmaltz passed the ball in close between two defenders.
St. Louis and Utah State combined for four goals in the second period.
Krause briefly gave the Mammoths a 2-0 lead when he knocked the puck over Hofer’s glove at 7:45 of the second period. Just 10 seconds later, the Blues pulled one back. After winning a face-off, Nathan Walker passed the puck to Sundqvist, whose long-range shot caught Vejmelka off guard.
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Durzi caught a pass from Schmaltz with 8:17 left in the second quarter to restore Utah’s two-goal advantage. St. Louis struck back again with Buchnevich’s wrist shot to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 3:33 left in the game.
Schmaltz scored a power-play goal at 6:57 of the third period to give Utah State a two-goal lead again.
Next
Bruce: Saturday night in Vegas.
Mammoth: Host Columbus on Sunday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
