Perron scores twice, Blues level series with 4-1 win over Avs

DENVER (AP) — Between the new line combinations and the wrinkles — using five forwards on one power play — there was one big constant for St. Louis: Jordan Binnington.

Star in goal once again.

David Perron scored twice as St. Louis juggled offensive matchups, Binnington made 30 saves and the Blues beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 Thursday to tie their second-round series at one game apiece.

Jordan Kyrou added a goal and Brandon Saad sealed it with an empty net for the Blues, who put on another fine performance from Binnington. The Blues goaltender stopped 51 shots during a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 1.

Binnington shows his form from 2019, when as a rookie he led the Blues to a Stanley Cup title by going 16-10 with a 2.46 goals-against average.

It was also his 20th career playoff win. There are only two other goaltenders who have as many postseason wins as him since 2019: Andrei Vasilevskiy (40-21) and Tuukka Rask (22-16), according to NHL Stats.

“We played a connected hockey game,” Binnington said. “We talked about just controlling the puck and going back hard and trying to outnumber them all over the ice. We did a great job.”

Gabriel Landeskog scored on a power play early in the third to make it 2-1 for Colorado. But Perron responded immediately with his seventh goal of these playoffs.

Darcy Kuemper stopped 28 shots. Two of the goals he allowed were redirected to the post of a defender.

The difference in the game was this: Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche found the open ice to be a rare commodity against a tougher, more determined, physical Blues squad.

St. Louis Blues left wing David Perron (57) is congratulated on his goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the second period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Thursday May 19, 2022 in Denver.

“We didn’t get our jump tonight,” MacKinnon said. “Our execution was called off. Yeah, we just didn’t feel it, we just fought it out there. It’s unfortunate, but it’s 1-1.“

Game 3 is Saturday in St. Louis.

Among the Blues’ lineup changes was pairing Pavel Buchnevich with Ryan O’Reilly and Perron. Buchnevich finished with two assists.

“We made some good plays,” Perron said. “We also think we can be even better, which is a good sign.”

The Blues had a 5-3 lead late in the second period when Devon Toews was called for tripping and Valeri Nichushkin was called for goalie interference after hitting Binnington, whose stick went flying. The blues went with five forwards in the play.

Perron made them pay when his line deflected off the crossbar of Josh Manson, who scored the game-winning overtime goal in Game 1, and passed Kuemper.

Earlier in the second, Kyrou’s shot deflected off defenseman Samuel Girard’s post and over Kuemper’s shoulder.

“That’s the playoffs for you, a big roller coaster ride,” Perron said. “Obviously we didn’t feel good about ourselves in the last game. We probably had two or three players who had good games. That was it. And tonight we had a lot more guys and it was important to find a way to win one here on the road.”

Colorado defenseman Cale Makar was shaken late in the first half when he fell to the ice and hit his leg against the post, knocking the goal down. He gingerly skated to the bench, but returned to the ice after intermission.

This is still a cloud hanging over the Avalanche: They’ve been knocked out of the playoffs the last three seasons in the second round.

“It’s a game,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We knew this was going to be a long and tough series. They responded… Now, the responsibility is ours”.

CLUB FIVE

With his second goal of the series, Kyrou joins the list of Blues players who now have five or more goals this postseason. He joins O’Reilly (six), Perron and Vladimir Tarasenko (five), giving the team the most scorers with five or more in the playoffs.

O’Reilly’s scoring streak of five straight games was stopped.

TOP LINE

MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen provided an assist on Landeskog’s goal. It’s the 13th, the time when all three have the same playoff goal in mind. That’s the second-most by three teammates in franchise history, behind only 14 by Peter Forsberg, Valeri Kamensky and Claude Lemieux.

MIC’D UP MANSON

manson was using a microphone in Game 1 when he scored his goal in overtime. He captured all the screaming as he and his teammates celebrated. One of the first to greet him was Girard.

“I didn’t really know,” Girard said of Manson’s microphone.

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