Perron scores OT game-winner to lead Blues past the Blue Jackets

ST. LOUIS — When the St. Louis Blues headed into overtime, the focus turned to David Perron. The winger some are calling Mr. Overtime didn't disappoint.

Perron scored eight seconds into the extra session to give the Blues a 4-3 comeback victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night.

"He's got a great shot," Blues winger Oskar Sundqvist said. "It seems like he loves overtime, so it's good for us."

After the Blues overcame a two-goal deficit to force overtime, Perron scored off a pass from Alex Pietrangelo the moment St. Louis' power play from Sonny Milano's hooking penalty expired.

"I don't think too much," Perron said. "I kind of got caught in between because we also had a breakout in case it went a little deeper there. I kind of just went back for a second and I went back in the (offensive) zone and (Pietrangelo) found me with a nice pass. We were able to get two points here tonight, which is big."

When it came to the Mr. Overtime moniker, Perron was less enthused.

"I don't know if it's taken," Perron said, "but I'd rather do Mr. Overtime for playoffs or something like that."

Brayden Schenn, Sundqvist and Robert Thomas also scored, and Jordan Binnington made 27 saves to improve to 7-2-3. The defending champion Blues have won three straight games and five of six.

"They came out quick and hard on us like we thought," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "That's a young, hard-working team, and I thought they jumped on us early and created some chances. Our goalie made saves, big saves, at the right time."

Pierre-Luc Dubois, Milano and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored for Columbus. Elvis Merzlikins made 23 saves as Columbus lost its third straight.

"I thought the second half of the third, we probably sat back a little more than we should have," Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones said. "They started to take it to us late in the game, but we held in there pretty good."

Schenn cut the Blues' deficit in half making it  3-2 on a power play with 7:53 left in the second, roofing a shot over Merzlikins for his team-leading tenth goal. Sundqvist corralled his own rebound and beat Merzlikins to tie it 26 seconds later.

"We know we can play better," Schenn said. "We're grinding out wins right now, letting teams hang around. Columbus is a good team, but we feel like we didn't play our best hockey tonight."

With the Colorado Avalanche losing and Nashville Predators idle, St. Louis moved into first place in the Central Division with 19 points.

NOTES:

Schenn has five goals and an assist in his last five games. ... Perron's assist on Schenn's goal was the 300th of his career. ... Dubois extended his points streak (3 goals, 3 assists) to five games. ... Columbus recalled LW Markus Hannikainen from the AHL's Cleveland Monsters on Thursday. He was a healthy scratch.

UP NEXT:

Blue Jackets: Host Calgary on Saturday night.

Blues: At Minnesota on Saturday night.