Zac Dalpe was so surprised to hear John Tortorella call his name for a shift with Daniel and Henrik Sedin that he did a double take because he didn't think his coach was serious.
Mike Santorelli wasn't at all surprised when he was dropped from that top line all the way down to Dalpe's spot on the fourth unit.
After swapping spots, Dalpe opened the scoring and Santorelli added the go-ahead goal 5:56 into the third period to help the Canucks end a five-game losing streak by beating the St. Louis Blues 2-1.
Santorelli, who didn't have a point in five games, was on the wrong end of the line juggling, moving from the top line to the bottom. But he scored got the game-winner by going to the net and redirecting Jason Garrison's quick shot from the top of the faceoff circles past goalie Brian Elliott on the blocker side.
"I wasn't good enough early on," Santorelli said. "Too many turnovers, so it was deserving. It doesn't matter who scores. It was good to get the two points and hopefully get things on the right track here."
Eddie Lack made 30 saves to help the Canucks (24-13-9) snap a 0-2-3 skid by beating the hottest team in the NHL. The Blues (31-8-5) had won seven in a row since a 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames on Dec. 23.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
Alex Pietrangelo scored the only goal for the Central Division-leading Blues, who lost in regulation for the first time in 11 games (9-1-1). Elliott made 20 saves but lost for the first time in his past eight starts.
GOALIE STATS
"We've been scoring some goals and getting a lot of wins lately so you expect to win every night so it's tough when you don't," said Elliott, who was back in goal after Jaroslav Halak shut out the Calgary Flames 5-0 on Thursday. "We have a homestand coming to make it up."
Font: NHL
