St. Louis Blues 21-22

pruman91 · May 22, 2022

Binnington leaves injured, Avs take series lead with 5-2 win

Husso replaces Binnington after controversial no-call in Kadri.

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Jim Thomas
For the first two games of this series, Colorado didn’t have much of an answer for goalie Jordan Binnington.
But for most of Saturday’s contest, a 5-2 Avalanche victory, they didn’t have to deal with him. He was knocked out of the game, less than seven minutes in, on a controversial play involving — who else? — Colorado forward Nazem Kadri.
Almost a year ago to the day, Nazem Kadri knocked Blues defenseman Justin Faulk out of Game 2 of the Blues’ opening-round series with Colorado with an illegal check to the head. Faulk was done for the series; Kadri was suspended.
Kadri was at it again Saturday, a central character in a sequence that knocked Binnington out of the game with 13 minutes 15 seconds left in the opening period. Kadri and Calle Rosen both were racing for a loose puck heading dead on at Binnington.

Kadri, making no attempt to slow down, lowered his shoulder and leaned into Rosen — causing Rosen to crash into Binnington. Kadri also fell on top of Binnington on the play. There was no penalty called.
When asked about the play after the game, coach Craig Berube said: “Look at Kadri’s reputation. That’s all I got to say.”
Binnington stayed down on the ice and head athletic trainer Ray Barile was out on the ice quickly. Binnington was slow to get up and then was helped off the ice and down the tunnel to the locker room. Enter Ville Husso, last seen in Game 3 of the Minnesota Wild series.

pruman91 · May 22, 2022

Avalanche's Kadri on Binnington collision: I was pushed

Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri knocked Faulk out of last season's playoffs and knocked Binnington out of Game 3, but he and his coach thought the play Saturday was just an

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Tom Timmermann
Nazem Kadri is probably the only person who can come anywhere close to Stan Kroenke when it comes to hated members of the Colorado Avalanche.
A year ago, it was Kadri hitting Justin Faulk and knocked him out of the postseason. On Saturday, it was Kadri colliding with Blues goalie Jordan Binnington and knocking him out of Game 3 and who knows how much longer. Two series, two significant injuries and, on Saturday, a 5-2 loss for the Blues that put them down 2-1 in the series.
The incident occurred with 13:15 to go in the first period, with the Blues up 1-0. Kadri and defenseman Calle Rosen were going for a loose puck in front of Binnington and the Blues goal. Kadri lowered his shoulder and leaned into Rosen, sending him into Binnington, and Kadri soon followed.

Kadri pled innocence after the game on the Binnington play.

“I just see a loose puck,” Kadri said. “Really. I mean, I was kind of just sitting behind him and just tried to poke it with my stick and I think their defenseman kind of collided with me and pushed me into him. So had that not been the case. I don't think I would have hit him at all. It’s a loose puck. I'm just trying to try to bang it in.”
This isn’t the first time Binnington and Kadri have crossed paths. In the second meeting of the season between the teams, Binnington got a 10-minute misconduct for taking a swing at Kadri during a scrum near the Blues goal. After the game on Saturday, Binnington threw an empty water bottle at Kadri while he was doing a postgame interview in a corridor near where the Blues medical room is. (Kadri said he wasn't positive it was Binnington who threw it but a witness ID'd Binnington as the perpetrator.)

pruman91 · May 22, 2022

Blues notebook: Faulk sees Rosen playing with the attitude of a veteran

Calle Rosen has spent much of this North American hockey career in the minors, but he's taken a steady, assured approach in the Blues in the playoffs

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Tom Timmermann
When the Blues first called up defenseman Calle Rosen from the AHL in November, he was a stranger to most of the team. He had appeared in just 20 NHL games over the preceding four seasons, more than half playing for Toronto in the Eastern Conference and just once against the Blues, in December of 2019 while with Colorado.
One player who knew him well was center Tyler Bozak. The two had been teammates on the 2017-18 Toronto Maple Leafs, with Rosen playing all of four NHL games that season while playing 62 that season with Toronto’s farm team. In addition, he had been in Toronto’s training camp the season before.
And Bozak remembered him.

“When he got here, Bozie said right away ‘He’s a good player. He hasn’t really had a good crack at it too much,’” recalled defenseman Justin Faulk, who has been Rosen’s defensive partner of late, “and then I played with him for a few games and you could see that he’s just calm out there. He’s steady, he skates well, he sees the play, and he wants to make a play.
“I think that’s a big thing, too, he’s not just out there trying to get by. He’s trying to make the right play and like all of us, it doesn’t always work, but he doesn’t get down. He continues to go out there and try to get things done. It’s hard for a guy that’s in that situation, that’s been up and down and never really stuck to have that mindset. But he’s done a great job and he’s shown it every night now.”

pruman91 · May 22, 2022

BenFred: Blues can't afford to let Perron go into free agency without a fight

Perron is true Blue. Playoff Perron. No one competes like he does, and that pays off big in the postseason.

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Ben Frederickson
They say if you love something, let it go and see if it returns.
Two times David Perron has been let go by the Blues, once via trade (2013) and another due to the team leaving him unprotected in the expansion draft (2017). Two times, he’s returned. In fact, Perron has never signed a contract with a team not named the Blues. His previous experiences as a draft-eligible prospect or free agent have ended the same way. Signing a deal with the Blues.
Perron is true Blue. He’s a champion. He’s Playoff Perron. And he could be gone again after this postseason ends. Hopefully not. If there was any doubt about how much the Blues need him, this in-progress postseason should have settled it.

Where would the Blues be this postseason without Perron?
Entering Saturday’s Game 3 of this second-round series against Colorado, Perron was tied for fifth in the NHL in postseason points (11). His seven goals trailed only Jake Guentzel’s eight. Perron’s hat trick in the Blues’ first first-round game against Minnesota helped the Blues steal one on enemy ice. His two-goal game against the Wild in Game 4 of that series helped send Minnesota to the golf course. His two-goal game against Colorado in Game 2 of this series introduced the Avalanche to their first taste of defeat in this postseason.
Don’t forget, Perron was at home last year during the playoffs, when the Blues got swept out of the bracket by this Colorado team. While Colorado was punching goals past goalie Jordan Binnington, Perron was trying to keep from punching holes in his basement after testing positive for COVID. It’s not a coincidence the Blues have showed more mettle in this rematch. Playing in front of packed stadiums is one difference. Playing with Perron is another.

pruman91 · May 22, 2022

Hochman: Beyond Kadri’s hit on Binnington, looking at Blues’ other 59:59 in Game 3 loss

"Our execution at the blue line wasn't great at times,” St. Louis captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “You have to be stronger and find a way to put it behind them."

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Benjamin Hochman
The Nazem Kadri collision, the Jordan Binnington injury, the postgame water-bottle throw — it’s the talk of the town.
But let’s talk about the other 59:59.
The Blues could’ve won Game 3. Or, if anything, tied it up.
“We’re right there with this team, we had opportunities to win this game,” Blues coach Craig Berube said after St. Louis lost to the Avalanche, 5-2, a score which included two empty-net goals. “I liked our game, I thought we checked well, I thought we did a lot of things right. A lot of things right.”
Obviously, not enough things, though. The Blues, loaded with 20-goal scorers, couldn’t put in many of their point-blank looks.

In the second period, Vladimir Tarasenko shot wide on a seemingly golden opportunity to channel "The Golden Brett.” Brayden Schenn couldn’t convert a great look. And in the third, Robert Thomas missed a breakaway. Overall on the night, the Blues actually had 22 scoring chances (one more than Colorado), per the stat site NaturalStatTrick. Moreover, the Blues had a higher number of expected goals — 2.05 to 1.89.
Credit the Avalanche for its indefatigable defense. And credit Colorado, hate to say it, for seizing momentum after Kadri played a key part in knocking out the goalie Binnington (who was reportedly seen walking out of the Blues’ dressing room and heaving a water bottle at Kadri during a live TNT interview).

pruman91 · May 23, 2022

Hochman: Let's not forget how recently St. Louis was confident in Ville Husso

“That's an athlete, a competitive person, and he's getting another chance of getting back in there and help the team win,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “That's how you look

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Benjamin Hochman
As the Nathan Walkers and Logan Browns got in some shots Sunday at an optional practice, the goalie was the guy now starting the biggest game of the season.
Ville Husso. His job status is the product of the biggest storyline in this series — Nazem Kadri knocking Jordan Binnington out of Game 3 … and out of the Avalanche-Blues second round. Husso, yet again, is the No. 1 netminder.
And so, inside Husso’s helmet — and behind that mask — were the answers that will define this series.
Just what’s going on in that brain of his?
He entered the playoffs with seventh-best save percentage in the entire National Hockey League. Then in Game 1, he won with a shutout (on the road, too). He lost Game 2 and Game 3, though he wasn’t the reason the Blues lost Game 2 and Game 3. But the team needed a spark, so coach Craig Berube went with Binnington in Game 4. Husso’s personal dream was dead.

And now, it’s Game 4 of the second round, and the same coach that benched Husso is turning to Husso.
How do you instill confidence in Husso, even though you pulled him?
“That’s an athlete, a competitive person, and he’s getting another chance of getting back in there and help the team win,” Berube said. “That’s how you look at it. That’s why they’re professional athletes.”

pruman91 · May 23, 2022

Blues notebook: Avalanche have a loss of their own to deal with

Colorado will be without defenseman Samuel Girard for the rest of the playoffs because of a broken sternum following a hit by Barbashev

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Tom Timmermann
Colorado will be regrouping after a loss of its own in Game 4, losing defenseman Samuel Girard for the rest of the postseason to a broken sternum suffered when he was checked into the boards by the Blues’ Ivan Barbashev.
“I feel bad,” said Colorado coach Jared Bednar. “It unfortunate. I think it’s a clean hit, I didn’t love the hit — you don’t want to see any players get injured, you’re here to compete and ideally you’re playing best on best and may the best team win — but we lose a guy last night, they lose a guy last night, both to different collisions. It’s a physical sport and it sucks, but hopefully Sam starts feeling better … and can rejoin our team.”

Girard was ninth among defensemen who have played at least 100 minutes this postseason in Corsi percentage. In the first three games, he and partner Josh Manson were matched up with the line that had Vladimir Tarasenko.
Bednar has some options to replace Girard in Jack Johnson, Ryan Murray and Kurtis MacDermid. None of have appeared in a game yet this postseason. Bednar was offering no hints on Sunday as to who it might be.
Despite Bednar saying Barbashev’s hit was legal — as with Kadri, there was no penalty called and no supplemental discipline from the league — Avs defenseman Cale Makar didn’t like it.

pruman91 · May 23, 2022

LETS GO BLUES

pruman91 · May 23, 2022

BenFred: 'The Kadri Game' will go down in Blues infamy if tossed trash is strongest response

Playing it cool after a questionable collision is one thing. The Blues went cold.

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Call this one, ‘The Kadri Game.’
Hashtag it #Bottlegate.
You had to know the most polarizing man with a vested interest in the Avalanche not named Stan Kroenke was going to stir the pot eventually.
Kadri’s Game 3 performance, complete with another tired Mr. Misunderstood song and dance after Colorado’s 5-2 win, could have just swung this second-round series in favor of the Avalanche.
Kadri’s first-period collision with Blues defenseman Calle Rosen turned into a two-man collision into Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who left the game with a lower-body injury and was not heard from again – at least not until he and Kadri crossed paths in the Enterprise Center hallway that connects locker rooms after the game, and Binnington, according to multiple witnesses cited by media covering the Avalanche, sent an empty water bottle in Kadri's direction.

But that wasn’t the only thing Kadri did Saturday.
Blues fans won’t want to admit this, but Kadri played great after Ville Husso was tasked with the tough assignment of hustling into the game from the bench to fill in for the Blues' most important player in this postseason.
Kadri scored a goal after the collision. Kadri notched an assist after the collision. Kadri took Jordan Kyrou’s stick away from him after the collision. Did you see that one? It was the kind of thing a big brother does to a little brother in a street hockey game. Kadri was on the ice a lot after the collision, including late, after things got lopsided, and he was seemingly unafraid of any sort of potential retribution from the Blues.

pruman91 · May 23, 2022

Binnington out for series; Blues call up Lindgren

Binnington suffered a lower-body injury less than seven minutes into Saturday’s 5-2 Blues loss to Colorado.

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If the Blues are going to reach the Western Conference finals, it will be with Ville Husso in goal.
Coach Craig Berube announced Sunday that Jordan Binnington is out for the remainder of the team’s second-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche due to a lower-body injury. That puts Husso, the 27-year-old from Helsinki, Finland, back in the spotlight — starting with Monday’s Game 4 at Enterprise Center.
Colorado leads the best-of-seven series, two games to one, following its 5-2 victory Saturday at Enterprise — a game in which Binnington was injured less than seven minutes into the game on a collision instigated by Nazem Kadri.

“Yeah, it is (a blow),” Berube said of the Binnington injury. “It is what it is. We’ve moved on.”
Berube said Binnington would not need surgery, and said it’s possible Binnington could play in the next round if the Blues advance.
“He’s not happy,” Berube said of Binnington. “I mean, he’s playing great hockey. He wants to be in there and help us win. So any time a player gets hurt from a situation, he’s not gonna be happy about it. They’re competitive guys, they want to play. And now he can’t.”
So for now Berube and the Blues have faith in Husso. The new team motto: In Ville we trust.
“A lot of faith,” Berube said. “He’s played great for us all year.”
The team also announced Sunday it had called up Charlie Lindgren from Springfield of the American Hockey League as Husso’s backup.

pruman91 · May 23, 2022

Blues Game Day: Plenty of distractions to try to put aside for Game 4

Blues have lost Binnington in goal, Colorado has lost defenseman Girard while Kadri has received threats after hurting Binnington.

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A lot has changed since the start of Game 3 of the Blues-Avalanche series, not quite 48 hours ago.
The Blues have lost their starting goalie, the Avalanche have lost one of their top defensemen, and emotions are getting high because of the plays that led to those absences and the ensuing fallout.
That will come to a head tonight, somewhere around 8:45 p.m., when the puck will drop on Game 4. Both teams are saying the past is the past.
“Yeah, exactly,” said forward David Perron. “There's nothing else there. I understand that you guys have questions [presumably about Nazem Kadri’s collision with Jordan Binnington], but there's no comment from my part on any of that stuff. You see it happening in other series and all that stuff, the league's there to take care of it if they have to and for us, I think it's just a matter of dealing with our emotions after any losses, any wins, you've got to find a way to turn the page and be better next game. We will do that tonight.”

“It’s the playoffs,” said Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog. “There's always going to be storylines this way or another, teams going with different storylines, but we're focused on Game 4. We know how important this game is and they're gonna want to win it just as bad as we do. We want to be a good hockey game. As far as our team goes, we’re focused on that.”
The Blues will have Ville Husso moving into Binnington’s spot in goal, and it looks like Jack Johnson will move into Samuel Girard’s defensive spot for Colorado. Avs coach Jared Bednar wouldn’t confirm that, but from the players who stayed on ice after practice, that seemed what was happening. There also could be one switch coming at forward for the Avs.

pruman91 · May 24, 2022

Kadri's hat trick puts Blues on the brink

The plan was to stay focused and worry about winning – not retribution on Nazem Kadri. But it was Kadri who got the last laugh, in triplicate.

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Jim Thomas
The plan was to stay focused and worry about winning – not retribution on Nazem Kadri. But it was Kadri who got the last laugh, in triplicate.
Kadri’s first NHL postseason hat trick put the Colorado Avalanche in firm control of this series with a 6-3 victory over the Blues on Monday at Enterprise Center. As a result, the series heads back to Denver with the Avs up three games to one in the best-of-7 series. They can clinch Wednesday in a 7 p.m. start at Ball Arena.
As much as the game may have been a personal vindication for Kadri, who said comments by coach Craig Berube fueled his fire, poor 5-on-5 play and a subpar night by goalie Ville Husso had more to do with the Blues’ undoing.

“We got outskated for most of the game, 5-on-5,” Berube said. “It's pretty simple, I don't know why. We got outskated. They outskated us. Got to every loose puck. Lost a lot of puck battles.”
In that sense, the contest looked a lot like Game 1 of this second-round series. Even though the Blues took a 1-0 lead after one period Monday, they were outshot 15-3 in the first and seemed a step behind the Avalanche all night.
“I’m not sure we ever had control of the game, even though we scored first,” said David Perron, who scored two of the three Blues goals. “We didn’t make them defend hard enough. We had some pushes, but not nearly consistent enough to win a hockey game.”

pruman91 · May 24, 2022

Kadri caps a tumultuous trip to St. Louis with a hat trick in Avs' win over Blues

The recipient of racial slurs and threats after his involvement in a play that injured Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, Kadri put the Blues in a big hole with a three-goal

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Tom Timmermann
Coming into Game 4 on Monday night, Colorado coach Jared Bednar was confident everyone on his team was ready for the game, with one exception: forward Nazem Kadri.
In the previous 48 hours, Kadri had been involved in a play that knocked Blues goalie Jordan Binnington out of the series and possibly the season, and then received online racial slurs and threats, which were real enough that the St. Louis police was on hand at the game.
"The one guy that I was kind of concerned about was Naz," Bednar said, "but I thought he was amazing. A tremendous game from him, a focus, a discipline. I'm proud of him. I'm really proud of the way he's handled the last 48 hours and to be able to come out and perform like that in the pressure situation is amazing."

With every reason to be distracted, Kadri scored a hat trick in Colorado’s 6-3 win over the Blues in Game 4 that put the Avalanche up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. If the Blues don't win Game 5 on Wednesday in Denver, their season will be over.
“I guess I needed some fuel,” Kadri said. “I was pretty upset for the last couple of days, but it is what it is. We got the win and that’s what we wanted.

“I guess someone had contacted (the police) about some hateful messages and I was able to read those messages and they were very extreme. So, you know, I just tried to shake it off. They did a good job of assuring me and making me feel safe. I just had to worry about coming (to the rink) and showing up tonight.”

pruman91 · May 25, 2022

Tipsheet: Loaded Avalanche, explosive Oilers move closer to exciting showdown

Watching the Avalanche and Oilers fly up and down the ice could give fans a flashback to exciting 1980s hockey. But first Colorado and Edmonton have to win one more

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Jeff Gordon
Amatchup between the steamrolling Colorado Avalanche and the high-flying Edmonton Oilers for the Western Conference title would be great viewing.
The NHL playoffs are trending that way, with both the Avalanche and the Connor McDavid-led Oilers holding commanding 3-1 leads in their series.
But first things first: The Avalanche had to finish off the Blues and the Oilers must put out the Calgary Flames one more time.
“It feels good,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters. “We have to get ready to play our best game against St. Louis. It’s a team facing elimination and they’re going to come with their best game. We have to bring ours as well.”

The Blues didn’t come out with much jump on Game 4, but perhaps the prospect of elimination will get their attention ahead of Game 5.
“They’re on the ropes now. So, we’ve got to be ready for anything,” Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram said. “We have the chance to clinch the series on home ice. That’s a pretty big advantage for us, too.”
Winning Game 5 would spare the Avalanche a trip back to St. Louis and additional exposure to the villainous Blues fans.
“It’s our home game, we’re sitting in a real good spot, right where we need to be,” Bednar said. “So now we have to come back and play our best performance of the series.”

pruman91 · May 25, 2022

Gordo: Time running out on Blues to grow individually and as a team

The Blues regained NHL relevance by taming the Minnesota Wild in their first-round playoff series. They moved past the futility of their previous two postseasons with a stout performance.

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Jeff Gordon
The Blues regained NHL relevance by taming the Minnesota Wild in their first-round playoff series. They moved past the futility of their previous two postseasons with a stout performance.
That’s great, but now they face swift elimination by the accelerating Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of their second-round series Wednesday night in Denver.
These playoffs have offered valuable experience to rising stars Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas, two cornerstones the franchise can use to revamp their team structure. This game could be the last chance for these young core players to grow in the postseason hothouse.
Rookie forward Alexei Toropchenko and young defensemen Niko Mikkola and Scott Perunovich are learning what high-end playoff hockey is all about. The more they experience the better.

Toropchenko is making the most of his first extended NHL with his robust play. Mikkola became the odd man out late in the regular season, so this postseason opportunity was crucial. Perunovich earned high marks for pushing his comeback from wrist surgery to help this depleted team.
Game 5 could also be the final opportunity for others to define their season and ultimately their value to the organization.
Atop that list is goaltender Ville Husso. He remains in development at the advanced age of 27 and he could become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
So who is he?
Husso played brilliantly in January and February after displacing the struggling Jordan Binnington, but he was more ordinary after that. He buckled during the first playoff round, ceding the crease back to Binnington, and he has made the least of his second postseason chance.

pruman91 · May 25, 2022

Blues notebook: Perron fined $5,000 for cross check to Kadri

Not only did Nazem Kadri have a hat trick against the Blues in Game 4, he took money out of their pocket when Perron cross checked him trying to invigorate

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Tom Timmermann
The Blues came out flat (and for the most part stayed flat) in Game 4 on Monday, and one of the few players who showed some emotion will be paying a price for it.
If it wasn’t bad enough that Nazem Kadri had a hat trick against the Blues in Game 4, he also earned the Blues a fine after David Perron was fined $5,000 by the league’s department of player safety, the maximum allowed, for cross checking Kadri in the second period.
Perron’s cross check came toward the end of a sequence which seemed bound to end this way. It started with Pavel Buchnevich hitting Kadri behind the Colorado goal (Buchnevich got his elbow up on the hit) and the two skating up ice behind the play. After the whistle, Kadri made a hard bump into Perron, who had taken a course that cut right in front of Kadri, that staggered him and then Buchnevich came over and hit Kadri, sending him to the ice. Just as Kadri was getting up, Perron came flying in with a cross check to send him back to the ice and soon multiple players were involved. Perron said after the game that he was looking to create a spark for the team.

Buchnevich (roughing) and Perron (cross checking) both got minor penalties on the play, while Kadri and the Avalanche got nothing, which gave Colorado a two-minute 5-on-3 advantage. While the Blues killed the penalty, when Perron and Buchnevich got out of the box and back into the play, no one picked up Kadri, who scored a goal that made it 4-1.

pruman91 · May 26, 2022

Blues live on — Bozak’s OT goal sends series back to St. Louis

Team rallies from 3-0 deficit to win their second game of series.

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Jim Thomas
DENVER — On eight occasions this season, the Blues put together winning streaks of three games or more. They won five in a row to start the season and won nine straight in April.
Well, they need one more three-game streak to keep their season alive, and got a start in that direction Wednesday with an improbable, mind-binding 5-4 overtime victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. The oldest Blue, Tyler Bozak, scored the game-winner at 3:38 of overtime as St. Louis rallied from a 3-0 deficit.
In the long, colorful history of Blues hockey, it was only the fifth time they’re rallied from a three-goal deficit in the playoffs and the first time since Game 3 of the conference quarterfinals against the Los Angeles Kings in 1998.

Robert Thomas (with two goals) couldn’t have picked a better time for his first goals of the postseason, and Vladimir Tarasenko couldn't have picked a better time for his first goal of the series. Defenseman Nick Leddy had three assists, the most he’s ever had in 129 postseason games.
The other goal, originally credited to Justin Faulk on a net-front scramble, was changed to Jordan Kyrou more than an hour after the game by the NHL. It was a big one, tying the game at 3-3 with just 4:46 left in regulation.
And so there will be hockey in St. Louis on Friday at Enterprise Center, with the Blues still down three games to two in the best-of-seven series

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The Blues with a comeback of such epic proportions...........Never giving in to the temptation to just play out the string after falling behind 3-0 , on the road , in an elimination game if they lose........

i will be in front of my tv screen for game # 6 Friday night,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

LETS GO BLUES............................

pruman91 · May 26, 2022

Hochman: Where was that heart in Game 4? Blues ascend with epic comebacks in Game 5 classic win

A road win for the ages as the Blues stun Colorado.

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Benjamin Hochman
DENVER — Inside a quiet elevator in a silenced arena, the doors opened to reveal the biggest Blues fan there is.
Tom Stillman, hockey-loving chairman of the Blues, stepped into a Ball Arena elevator to go down to ice level, where it had just happened.
It, of course, being the impossible.
“That was hard on the heart,” Stillman said. “But it showed the team has a lot of heart.”
Even before puck-drop, it was hard to believe the Blues would win this game. After their embarrassing showing in Game 4 at home, Game 5 at Ball Arena was supposed to be a Colorado coronation — finally, the Avs would return to the conference final for the first time since 2002.

Then consider that down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, the Blues were down 3-0 in Game 5’s second period.
It was over. This column would be an obituary.
And now, suddenly, inexplicably, the Blues are back in this series. What they showed out there wasn’t just simply grit and grind — this was something at another level of perseverance, something you can’t coach or teach or preach. Something that certain teams just have in them, while others don’t.

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good read

Se Il Illini · May 26, 2022

Great comeback in game 5.

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · May 26, 2022

I think they might have been a little fired up after Game 5:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1529679680973918208

pruman91 · May 27, 2022

Tipsheet: Avalanche had Blues down, but couldn't knock them out

The Avalanche had Game 5 totally under control. They had the Blues on the brink of elimination. But they couldn't finish them off.

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The Colorado Avalanche had the Blues beat. They had them buried in Game 5, eliminated from the second round of the playoffs.
And then they didn’t.
Despite Nathan MacKinnon’s magnificent performance – capped by his highlight-reel goal to complete a hat trick – Colorado couldn't finish off the victory.
The Blues rallied from a 3-0 deficit, tied the game again with goaltender Ville Husso pulled and then won in overtime. Veteran Tyler Bozak fired a not-so-supersonic shot from distance and Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper couldn’t catch it.
Improbably, the series moves on to Game 6. The Avalanche are left pondering a big question: Why didn’t they put the Blues away when they had full control of the game?

"You have to stay aggressive," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "You have to continue to play your game and believe in what you're doing. For the most part we've been doing that.”

But in this game, they did not.
“It's starting to look like you're either the hammer or the nail in the series, so we have to go and be the hammer,” Bednar said. “We have to keep moving forward and pressing and forcing them into mistakes. But it starts with the competitiveness and the puck decisions. As the game went on, they had a little bit extra in the battle, we didn't, and our puck decisions were not good.”

pruman91 · May 27, 2022

Will 'Mile High Miracle' turn series Blues' way?

The Blues hope to build from Wednesday's dramatic 5-4 OT victory and tie series with Colorado

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Jim Thomas
Over a 2 ½-game stretch, encompassing Games 3 and 4 plus the first half of Wednesday’s Game 5 against Colorado, the Blues were outscored 14-5.
Down three games to one in the best-of-seven playoff series, the Blues were on the brink of elimination trailing 3-0 midway through Game 5 to a talented Avalanche squad.
“You’ve got nothing to lose, so you might as well throw it all out there,” Robert Thomas said. “I think that was our mentality. It seemed to work.”
Yes, it did. Even after Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon made a dazzling end-to-end rush to complete a hat trick and give the Avs a 4-3 lead with under three minutes to play.

Maybe 99 times out of 100, that’s it. Game, set, match. But apparently there was no panic on the St. Louis bench.
“Just stick with it, there’s a lot of time left,” Tyler Bozak said. “We’ve got guys that can score. We know we can make plays and it’s not over until it’s over.”
It wasn’t over until Bozak’s game-winner gave the Blues a stunning 5-4 overtime victory Wednesday at Ball Arena. There are a couple of football games in Denver Broncos lore that bear the moniker: “Mile High Miracle.”
Well, Wednesday was the hockey version of a Mile High Miracle — St. Louis-style.

IlliniwekKDR · May 27, 2022

Playing with house money at this point, let's do it again tonight, boys!

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · May 27, 2022

Honest question...

Is Kuemper really that good of a goaltender or does he just benefit from having the team around him he does?

pruman91 · May 28, 2022

Helm's game-winning goal with 5.6 seconds left ends Blues' season

Avalanche advance to Western Conference finals, winning series four games to two with 3-2 win.

www.stltoday.com

Jim Thomas
The Blues had gone the entire season losing three consecutive home games only once. They picked the wrong time to make it twice — the time that ends your season. But that’s what happened Friday at Enterprise Center.
The Colorado Avalanche, Stanley Cup favorites since before the first puck was even dropped in training camp, moved on to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2002. They turned the lights out on the Blues’ season with a 3-2 victory, thus clinching the second-round playoff series four games to two.
Just when it looked like another overtime was about to take place, unheralded forward Darren Helm, with his first goal of the postseason, scored the game-winner with just 5.6 seconds to play.

“It's tough, a tough way to end it,” coach Craig Berube said. “That's the way it goes. Our guys battled hard.”
Colorado thus remains the only team in the playoffs to be unbeaten on the road. The Avs are 5-0, the second-longest road postseason winning streak in franchise history. As for the Blues, they have an entire season to lament the fact that they didn’t win a single home game in the series. Not one.
They lost 5-2 in Game 3, the night Jordan Binnington suffered a series-ending apparent knee injury on a collision instigated by Nazem Kadri. They lost 6-3 in Game 4, trailing just 4-3 after two periods. And then came Friday’s season-ender. Three games at Enterprise — three losses.

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Disappointing way to end a great season ..........An epic comeback win followed by an epic last second loss..................................Lost all 3 home games to the Av's this series has to sting .........

LETS GO BLUES