St. Louis Blues

2022 - 5 - 22

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Hockey Writers"

3 Takeaways From Blues' 5-2 Loss to Avalanche in Game 3 (The Hockey Writers)

The St. Louis Blues lost Game 3 on home ice 5-2 to the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche will now carry a 2-1 series lead going into Game 4.

I started with FanSided as a Baseball Contributor. Now I am writing about the NHL and the St. Louis Blues for The Hockey Writers. I grew up in Central Illinois as a huge fan of every sport. The Blues must come out fast and be ready to play a lot better in front of whoever their goaltender is. The series was an uphill battle for the Blues before it started, but now with the Binnington injury and series deficit, it becomes even more difficult. The Avalanche played nearly the entire game with only five defensemen, and the Blues could not take advantage of that. Binnington has been somewhat of a savior for the Blues in the playoffs, with a .948 save percentage (SV%) and a record of 4-1. It was less than seven minutes into the game when he left, and he had made three saves with a 1-0 lead.

Report: Blues fear they could lose Binnington for weeks after Kadri ... (Sportsnet.ca)

St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington left the ice in Game 3 following a collision with Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri.

After the game, Blues coach Craig Berube said Binnington was having a lower-body injury evaluated. After a consultation with a Blues athletic trainer, Binnington left the ice for further evaluation. St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington left the ice in Game 3 on Saturday following a collision with Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri. Ville Husso had to come on in relief.

What to Watch: Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues (Game 3) (The Hockey News)

There's just one game on tap on Saturday, but it's going to be a doozy. Here's the key for success for both the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues ...

That, right there, is the key for St. Louis in Game 2. The Avalanche are still among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup and have a long list of star talent to make up for any deficiencies. To say he needs to do that another three times is an understatement because the Avalanche don't let you beat them down multiple times in a row. After a perfect first five games, the Colorado Avalanche finally had some cracks in the armor in Game 2. We knew the Blues weren't going to back down easily in this series, and Colorado's long break was partly a reason for concern. But Colorado is second at 34.5, and has a much better penalty kill (82.8 percent) than Colorado (68.8).

Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado Avalanche solve St. Louis Blues in Game 3 (The Globe and Mail)

The Avalanche lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Monday night in St. Louis.

With Husso backpedaling toward the vacated goal, Nathan MacKinnon found Landeskog open on left wing for the tally. Josh Manson came out of the penalty box to corral the puck and send O’Connor to score against Husso. He was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation of his upper-body injury.

Blues Goaltender Jordan Binnington Throws Water Bottle at Avs ... (Sports Illustrated)

The Colorado forward was involved in a collision with St. Louis's Jordan Binnington during Saturday's contest.

As the All-Star forward explained what happened during his an interview with NHL on TNT after the game, Kadri encountered an unexpected interruption from off-camera. The former All-Star’s status remains to be determined. I’m not sure if he just threw a water bottle at me or not but, I mean, not much I can do, man,” Kadri said.

Avalanche take series lead with Game 3 win over Blues (TSN)

Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and an assist, and Colton Parayko also scored for the Blues. Jordan Binnington started in goal for St. Louis and made three saves ...

After the game, Bednar said Girard has a broken sternum and will be out for the remainder of the postseason. “We kind of lost our structure a bit and kind of having our numbers where we need them in order to generate some offense. “It kind of goes in on his head side, but he got a lot of body there. “I thought it was a legal check to be honest with you," Bednar said. “I think there was a little bit of a momentum swing there,” O'Connor said about the Blues changing goaltenders. Nathan MacKinnon assisted on the goal to give him points in seven straight postseason games. It was a heavy check. “Of course it was a good answer from the last game,” Lehkonen said. “I was just kind of sitting behind him and just tried to poke it with my stick. I think their defenseman kind of collided with me and pushed me into him. “I think even before that we felt our game coming a little more. No penalty was called on the play.