by By Jeremy Rutherford ¿ Jrutherford@post-dispatch.com>314-444-7135 , St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ed Jovanovski deflected in a pass, off the end of his stick , in overtime to cap the Phoenix Coyotes' comeback from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Blues 3-2 Thursday night.

The play was disputed, but the officials ruled it a goal after a lengthy video review to hand the Blues their third loss in a row after a 2-0 start to the season.

The Blues caught a break in the second period but it wasn't enough.

A heads-up play by the Blues' Paul Kariya - one you won't see often - gave the club a 2-1 lead in the second period. The Blues would have been lucky to win the game on Kariya's third goal of the season.

On the play, Phoenix defenseman Keith Yandle moved the puck out from behind the Coyotes' net as if he didn't see Kariya in front. Kariya took a backhanded whack at the puck and somehow squeaked it past goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov with 7:41 left in the second period.

But Phoenix tied it when Scottie Upshall scored at 8:27 of the third period.

Bryzgalov entered Thursday's game riding a shutout streak of 114 minutes, 24 seconds and had surrendered just one even-strength goal in five previous games. But along with David Backes' first goal of the season, the Blues touched Bryzgalov for two.

The club will be off today before facing the Anaheim Ducks Saturday at the Honda Center.

The Blues were preaching the need for a good start Thursday morning as they prepared for Phoenix. Andy Murray's club had looked timid in its first four games of the season.

"We've got to have game patience ... the patience to make the right plays, the right decisions," Murray said before the game. "Playing hard is one thing, but we haven't played smart. We need to play smart."

But Phoenix, which has shutout victories over Pittsburgh and San Jose this season, dominated the first period Thursday, taking an 11-3 lead in shots early.

But the Blues managed to keep the game scoreless, and in the second period, they took the lead on Backes' goal.

With a penalty coming against Phoenix, Backes flicked a shot from the blue line that beat Bryzgalov. B.J. Crombeen, who had been pushed into the net, crawled out and created a screen in front just before the goal.

Defenseman Tyson Strachan, making his season debut, recorded an assist on the goal, as did Carlo Colaiacovo.

The Blue had a chance to stretch their lead to two goals later in the period, but a two-on-one rush with David Perron and Andy McDonald ended with a Bryzgalov save on McDonald.

Less than 20 seconds later, the Coyotes tied the score 1-1 on Shane Doan's first goal of the season, a power-play goal. After a shot by Adrian Aucoin, Doan put in the rebound, snapping the Coyotes' 0-for-15 power-play drought.

The score stayed 1-1 until Yandle's misplay with under eight minutes to play in the period.

Kariya used his Hockey sense as he skated toward the net and took an innocent poke at the puck as Yandle skated toward him. The goal surprised everybody in the building - not many on a night when attendance was announced at just over 6,000 fans.

Phoenix, however, gave the intimate gathering something to cheer in the third period, when Upshall netted his second goal of the season with 11:33 remaining in regulation.

On a two-on-one rush, Upshall took a pass from Matthew Lombardi and beat Blues goalie Chris Mason, tying the score 2-2.

The Coyotes nearly took a 3-2 lead late in the third period, but Blues defenseman Mike Weaver batted a puck out of midair in front of the team's net.

Up next ? 9:05 p.m. Saturday at Ducks, FSM

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