They're not going to send Binnington down at this point in the season. They'll wait til the off-season and see if they can off load him as trade bait.
St. Louis Blues 21-22
- Status
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Blues put out the Flames with improbable 6-4 win
Despite being outshot 43-25, Blues head home triiuphant.
Jim Thomas
CALGARY — All the ingredients were there for another disaster.
The completion of a grueling Western road trip. Three games in four days. And the second game of a back-to-back in Calgary to finish it up.
Which were the exact same circumstances the last time the Blues visited the C of Red, aka the Scotiabank Saddledome. You might recall how that one ended. The Blues went up, well, in Flames, losing 7-1 in their most lopsided defeat of the season.
Things went a little differently this time. Oh, Calgary took its shots – 43 of them to be exact, only slightly less than the 48 they launched in that Jan. 24 debacle.
But the Blues got strong goaltending from Ville Husso, timely offense, and persevered for a 6-4 win that included four goals in the final 1:56 – two of which were Blues empty-netters.
“It’s a back-to-back,” said Justin Faulk, who scored a key goal to give the Blues a 3-2 lead with the second period winding down. “It’s gonna be tough some nights. You can’t just give in, and we definitely didn’t do that tonight. . . .But like you said ‘perseverance’ is a good word to use there. We just stuck with it and our mindset never wavered.” As a result, they completed the trip garnering five out of a possible six points. At 38-20-10 for 86 points, the Blues matched their high-water mark of the season at 18 games over .500.
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Great game and great road trip..........Time to secure that playoff spot...............
LETS GO BLUES
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Blues notebook: Buchnevich gets his groove back
He has snapped out of a March slump to set a career high for goals in a season.
Jim Thomas
CALGARY — Just a little more than a week ago, coach Craig Berube had one of those rinkside chats with Pavel Buchnevich, who was mired at the time in a season-long eight-game goal drought.
Your confidence will come, Berube told him. You have to work your way out of it. Play a more direct game, shoot more.
Apparently, Buchnevich took those words to heart. On March 26 against Carolina, he had a season-high 10 overall shot attempts and scored two goals. On Friday in Edmonton, he had six shots on goal — just one off his season high — and scored two goals.
“You work through it,” Berube said prior to Saturday’s game against Calgary. “You get times during the year when things aren’t going well. In my opinion, he’s working really hard and he’s shooting the puck.”
Early this season, Berube said Buchnevich had the talent to be a 30-goal scorer. He may not get there this year, but entering the Calgary contest, he had a career-best 23 goals this season.
“I don’t care about that,” Buchnevich said after Friday’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Oilers. “I just focus to make the playoffs and start play in playoffs. I don’t care about my goals.”
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And in Springfield
Charlie Lindgren had a 41-save shutout Friday as the Springfield Thunderbirds defeated Providence 1-0 in a key divisional game in the American Hockey League. Lindgren is 20-4-2 for the T-Birds this season, with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.Klim Kostin had the game’s only goal.
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pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Blues notebook: This time, Walker plans on sticking around
Since his latest callup from Springfield, Walker has three goals in seven games.
Jim Thomas
For three seasons, Nathan Walker has ridden the San Antonio-Utica-Springfield express up and down from the Blues and wherever their AHL affiliate happened to be at the time.
This time, he’s not leaving. At least that seems to be Walker’s attitude judging by his play. He wants to stick around.
“That’s my plan, right?” Walker asked after the Blues’ 6-4 win Saturday over Calgary. “Everyone wants to play hockey and play in the NHL. I’m just trying to do the best I can here and help this team win. If I can play well enough and help the team win and get the points when we need ’em, hopefully things can go in the right way.”
At 28, Walker is no spring chicken by hockey standards. He’s listed at 5 feet 9, which seems generous. But he skates, he scraps, he scores. He did all three against the Flames, with his clutch third-period goal giving the Blues a 4-3 lead with 1:56 to play.
“He’s a workhorse,” said defenseman Justin Faulk. “He’s doing everything that you ask of a guy that’s gonna play that way. He’s playing the hard way. He’s physical, he’s blocking shots, he’s putting his body in front of everything.
“It doesn’t matter if someone’s coming to hit him, he takes the hit. And to see him get rewarded with goals is huge.”
Walker has seven goals in 16 games for the Blues this season, which would translate to 35 goals over an 82-game schedule. Since his most recent callup March 22 from Springfield, he has three goals in seven games.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Despite ups and downs, Blues prospect Neighbours has big plans
After being sidelined for 1½ months with an upper-body injury, Neighbours is scheduled to return this coming weekend.
Jim Thomas
EDMONTON, Alberta — This has been a season of success intermingled with setbacks for Jake Neighbours.
He made the Blues’ opening-day roster as a teenager in October, but after nine games in the NHL was sent back to junior hockey.
He made Team Canada’s World Junior squad and was named an alternate captain. But after just two games in pool play in the prestigious tournament, the event was postponed because of COVID.
So it was back to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League, for which he is team captain. There was a one-week pause because of a COVIID outbreak among the team.
Play resumed, and Neighbours was one of the hottest players in the 22-team league. From mid-January to late February, he enjoyed a 14-game point streak (10 goals, 13 assists). But in the midst of the streak, Neighbours suffered an upper-body injury and hasn’t played since.
“We weren’t really too sure what it was,” said Neighbours, who met with the Post-Dispatch before the Blues’ morning skate Friday in Edmonton. “So I played a couple games actually with the injury. It was kind of nagging me a little bit, so we decided to take a look at it, and then we just decided it was best that I was rested for playoffs rather than forcing it.” But the wait is over. After missing 14 games, Neighbours is scheduled to return to the lineup this coming weekend. The Oil Kings have four regular-season games remaining followed by the WHL playoffs.
Great moment here involving Gunnarsson, who was back at Enterprise Center tonight for the first time since his retirement:
Also love this question from Panger here:
Also love this question from Panger here:
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Blues do what they're supposed to in 5-1 win over Arizona
Blues have struggled against teams at the bottom of the standings, but they're on their game from start to finish against Coyotes
Tom Timmermann
Sometimes all you have to do is what’s expected of you.
In a season filled with games the Blues should have won but didn’t, the Blues took on the Arizona Coyotes, tied for the worst record in the NHL and, for a change, the Blues looked like a team that was 37 points up on the other in the standings.
In a rare show of dominance against the sub-basement of the league, the Blues were in control pretty much from the start and scored four times in the second period, three of them in 4 minutes and 16 seconds, in a 5-1 win over Arizona at Enterprise Center on Monday night.
Factor in a long flight home from Calgary on Sunday after a hard-fought win and a harder-fought tie in Alberta, and this had all the earmarks of a problem for the Blues. But they figured out how to handle it.
“We knew right from the start,” said center Robert Thomas, who had two assists, “it wasn’t going to be easy and yeah, it was a big win for us, especially after a long road trip like that.”
“We had good life,” said Blues coach Craig Berube. “Being on that long road trip, you worry about it a little bit coming home. But guys were good. They came out hard.”
The Blues got goals from a troika of Russians, Ivan Barbashev, Vladimir Tarasenko (two) and Pavel Buchnevich, along with one from Brayden Schenn, whose goal gave the Blues seven 20-goal scorers this season.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Blues notebook: Gunnarsson brings smiles with him on return to St. Louis
Retired defenseman stops by to visit his teammates for first time since going back to Sweden
Tom Timmermann
Carl Gunnarsson stopped by Enterprise Center on Monday to see his former Blues teammates for the first time since he retired in June, and they were thrilled to see him and his family.
“That was one of the most selfless teammates I’ve ever had,” forward Brayden Schenn said. “He’s a warrior, he played for the team every single night. It’s nice to see him in the building.”
“Carl looks good,” said longtime teammate Robert Bortuzzo. “I think he’s looked the same for the last 10 years and I don’t think that’s going to change. He’s got that Swedish build that ages well, I think.”
Gunnarsson retired after suffering a serious knee injury in a game on Feb. 22, 2021, ending a seven-season run with the Blues. He moved back to his native Sweden but came back this week on a family vacation.
“It’s kind of weird to be back but it feels good, though,” Gunnarsson said. “I missed it a lot and it’s been a little bit too long. We planned on coming earlier but we made it, so it’s good.
“I’m just taking a little time off and now back to studying a little bit and just work a little bit with the team back home (Orebro), taking care of the family, looking after them. It’s been all right. It’s a little change of pace but it’s been fun in a different way.”
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Hochman: What do the Blues do with Binnington? Nothing now … and, alas, maybe nothing later
As for Husso, he was crisp on Monday night at Enterprise Center. It was a Cardinals-themed night, and Husso played like he, too, won a Gold Glove.
No. 50 in goal really struggled at Enterprise Center on Monday.
For a change, it wasn’t Jordan Binnington.
Incidentally, is Binnington broken?
Has someone tried unplugging and plugging him back in?
In one of the weirdest twists of the season, the Cup hero Binnington has lost his focus and lost a bunch of games.
On Monday, he was on the bench, watching his teammates light up Arizona’s No. 50, Ivan Prosvetov. And so, there are two important questions looming.
Is Binnington’s season salvageable?
Probably not.
Is Binnington’s career salvageable?
I’ve been a huge advocate for the guy, and I believe he’ll return to form. Maybe not “spring 2019” form, but possibly “All-Star 2020” form.
As for this season, Binnington likely will get three more starts, because the Blues have three back-to-backs. But that should be it for "Binner" between the pipes. Ville Husso is the Blues’ goalie. And for a while there, he sure was “spring 2019” Binnington.
Almost eerily.
In Binnington’s first 11 starts of 2019, he went 9-1-1.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Blues notebook: Goals have been scarce lately for Kyrou
Blues all-star had mised the previous three gmes due to illness.
During Jordan Kyrou’s three-game absence due to illness, the Blues went 2-0-1 and averaged five goals per game. So they didn’t exactly miss Kyrou in the lineup.
Even so, they were glad to see him back in the lineup Monday against Arizona.
“I thought Kyrou skated and did some good things,” coach Craig Berube said after the Blues’ 5-1 win over the Coyotes. “So it was nice to have him back.
“He’s just gotta build off this game and get ready for the next game and then kinda do the same thing. He’s gotta use his feet and his shot — that’s the key for him. When he’s driving wide and skating and attacking and shooting, he’s a dangerous player.”
Even though he went without a goal or assist against Arizona, Kyrou did have some zip to his game. He shared the team lead with three shots on goal and five overall attempts in 14 minutes 56 seconds of ice time.
Even with the missed games and an ongoing goal drought, Kyrou still leads the Blues in scoring with 62 points (22 goals and 40 assists). But just barely. Vladimir Tarasenko has 61 points, followed by Robert Thomas with 59.
Kyrou has scored only once since the beginning of March, a stretch of 14 games. However, he does have 12 assists during that span, so it’s not like he hasn’t been contributing.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Blues' 20-Goal Club continues to grow
Blues have a league-leading seven players with at least 20 goals, the second-leading total in franchise history.
Jim Thomas
The 1980-81 Blues hit a mid-December lull, losing three of four games. Heading into Boston, where the Blues almost never won, coach Red Berenson shuffled his top line.
“Red came up to me and said, ‘We’re gonna put you with Blake Dunlop and Jorgen Pettersson,’” Wayne Babych recalled. “And I think they were gonna put Blair Chapman with Bernie (Federko) and Brian (Sutter).”
Well, the Blues routed the Bruins 7-3 that night (Dec. 18, 1980), with Babych’s line combining for three goals.
“So we had a two-line team instead of a one-line kind of offensive team,” Babych said. “And it continued that way and kind of spread everything out.
“All the (opposing) teams couldn’t just watch one line. We had offense coming from different directions. Guys complemented each other. We had a good thing going.”
Sound familiar? The 1980-81 team had 10 players finish the regular season with 20 goals or more, which remains the franchise record.
More than 40 years later, the 2021-22 Blues have seven players with 20 or more goals. It’s tied for the second-most in franchise history — with the 1984-85 Blues.
Now, the current Blues won’t have anyone finish anywhere close to 54 goals, like Babych had to lead the 1980-81 team. It was a different era in terms of offense. But similar to that squad, the current Blues have strength in numbers.
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Blues next game is tonight @ Seattle Kraken..................home @ 7 pm CT
LETS GO BLUES
And this is the 2nd time this season he's missed a return to St. Louis due to injury. At least Vince Dunn got his ovation when they played at Enterprise earlier this season.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Blues get it done, hold off Kraken 4-1
Team extends its point streak to six games (5-0-1) with the win.
Jim Thomas
If nothing else, the Seattle Kraken have been a tough out this season when it comes to playing the Blues. And Wednesday proved to be more of the same.
When the teams met Jan. 13, the Blues trailed by one goal after two periods before rallying for a victory. This time around, the Blues were up — but by just one goal — after two periods before grinding out a 4-1 victory before the 23rd sellout crowd (18,096) of the season at Enterprise Center.
The Blues have had trouble putting away bottom-dwellers in the standings this season. But they did it Monday with a workmanlike 5-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes.
Could they do it two times in a row against an also-ran? The answer Wednesday was yes, although it took some elbow grease this time around to get it done. It was by no means a dominant effort. But coach Craig Berube put it all in perspective.
“I wasn’t disappointed in the game,” he said. “I thought that guys competed and worked hard. That team over there (Seattle), I thought competed at a high level tonight. They worked hard, they made it difficult for us at times. It wasn’t an easy game by any means.
“They’ve got great structure. ... They don’t give you a lot. We managed to get (36) shots, but they check hard.”
Ville Husso stopped 28 of 29 shots, improving to 13-2-1 at home this season. Ryan O’Reilly and Robert Thomas continued their attempt to join the 20 Goal Club, with O’Reilly getting his 17th and Thomas his 16th goal of the season. Justin Faulk became the first Blues’ defenseman to reach the 10-goal plateau. And Jordan Kyrou ended a scoring drought with a key goal in the third period.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Blues Notebook: Bortuzzo's plate is full this season
For one of the few times in his 11-year NHL career, Bortuzzo has been an every-day player this year.
Jim Thomas
Robert Bortuzzo played his 60th game Saturday in Calgary, which for a lot of NHL players may not seem like much of a milepost.
But for the veteran Blues defenseman, it marked only the second time in his 11-year NHL career he’s played in as many as 60 games in one season. The 33-year-old native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has had to fight for playing time throughout his career. But this year, suddenly, he’s an every-game player. Or pretty close to it.
“It’s nothing we take for granted,” Bortuzzo said. “We appreciate the coaches’ trust in getting out there. We’re just doing what we can to contribute. Nothing really changes night to night.”
Wednesday’s contest against Seattle marked Bortuzzo’s 62nd of the season. He’s missed five games as a healthy scratch and three games on the COVID list. But that’s been it.
“You try and take care of your body physically, maybe more than you have in different prior years in terms of rest and being able to go, having played every night as opposed to getting stretches of breaks here and there,” Bortuzzo said. “Recovery would be the biggest thing and keeping the mentality that you have to do everything you can to stay in every night.”Bortuzzo’s career high for games played, and the only season prior to now when he reached 60 games, came in the 2017-18 season. He played 72 games that year for then-Blues coach Mike Yeo.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Timmermann: Who's better, Robert Thomas or Jordan Kyrou?
Tom Timmermann gives some first-hand observations during a weekly chat with Post-Dispatch readers.
chat with Blues fans.....interesting read...................
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Blues-Wild looks like first-round playoff matchup
The two high-scoring teams are separated by only one point in the Central Division standings.
Jim Thomas
It’s gone by fast. The Blues are approaching the runway to finish off the 2021-22 regular season.
With just 12 games left, they haven’t clinched anything in terms of playoff position, or even a playoff berth.
But it sure looks like they will open the postseason against the Minnesota Wild, so winning Friday’s 7 p.m. contest against those Wild will help the Blues gain home-ice advantage.
“Two teams, one point apart,” defenseman Colton Parayko said. “This part of the season it’s obviously a big game.”
Minnesota (43-21-5) has 91 points, one point more than the Blues (40-20-10) in the Central Division. The Wild also have a game in hand, having played one fewer contest than St. Louis at this point — 69 games to the Blues’ 70.
But if the Blues win Friday’s game at Enterprise Center, they move ahead of Minnesota and into second place in the Central, at least for now. The teams meet again April 16 in a game also at Enterprise.
The only other time the teams have met was Jan. 1 in the Winter Classic in Minneapolis, a 6-4 Blues victory.
Wait a minute. We know what you’re thinking. Aren’t Central Division teams supposed to play each other four times each season? With the addition of Arizona this season, making it an eight-team division, the Blues play four games apiece against five divisional opponents. And just three apiece against two divisional opponents.
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Big game tonight .......big 2 points up for grabs.....................................
LETS GO BLUES
And these two teams will meet again next Saturday, again at Enterprise Center.
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