Blues fall to Ducks in shootout

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf scored in the shootout to lift Anaheim to a wild 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Blues after the Ducks squandered a two-goal lead late in regulation Monday night.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made one save in the tiebreaker and watched St. Louis' other attempt go wide, as the Ducks tied idle Buffalo with an NHL-high 21 points.

Christan Backman nearly won it for the Blues in overtime, but his shot with just over 5 seconds left hit the right post behind Giguere. Backman gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead just 31 seconds into the game with his first goal of the season.

St. Louis erased a pair of two-goal deficits to earn a point in the standings.

Anaheim's Scott Niedermayer snapped a tie with a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 2:51 of the third period, and Dustin Penner pushed the Ducks' lead to 5-3 with another man-advantage goal 43 seconds later.

The Blues then set up for their comeback.

Keith Tkachuk netted his first of the season on a power play with 5:10 remaining in the third period, and Radek Dvorak got St. Louis even at 18:56.

Officials reviewed that goal for several moments to see if Dvorak struck the puck with a high stick. But he was credited with his fourth of the season.

The Blues pulled even at 3 late in the second period on Dennis Wideman's first goal of the season. That came only 1:33 after Lee Stempniak cut St. Louis' deficit to 3-2 with his sixth goal.

Wideman's tally ended a series of futile power-play opportunities for St. Louis. The Blues failed to convert during their first 8:41 minutes with an extra man, including a two-man advantage in the final minutes of the first period.

The Blues didn't record a shot during the 5-on-3 and were showered with a chorus of boos from the small crowd as the power play ended.

Travis Moen, Francois Beauchemin, Todd Merchant each scored to stake Anaheim to its early lead.

Notes: St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds dropped the ceremonial first puck before the game. He followed manager Tony La Russa who handled the duties before the Blues-Red Wings game Saturday, the day after the Cardinals won their 10th World Series title. ... St. Louis pitchers Anthony Reyes, Brad Thompson and Josh Hancock also attended the game. ... Selanne notched his seventh assist on Beauchemin's goal. ... The Blues are 0-0-3 when scoring first.