The St. Louis Blues bounced back in a big way after an overtime loss in Game 1, playing some of their best hockey all season en route to a 4-1 win in Game 2.
They accomplished what they came to Colorado looking to do: split the openers on the road before coming home to St. Louis. The Blues now have an opportunity to take control of the series, playing two straight games on home ice Saturday and Monday.
Coaching adjustments are crucial when battling in a best-of-7 series, and Head Coach Craig Berube shook up the forward lines to strong results in Game 2. The Blues scored more goals, recorded more shots on goal, spent less time in the penalty box and won a better share of face-offs than they did in the series opener.
"(We were) way more connected all over the ice," said Berube. "Puck support, making plays - we did a much better job of that... I've seen it all year, we're a good team. It's a good group of guys that want to win."
The power play continues to deliver, scoring a 5-on-3 opportunity to extend the team's postseason power-play goal streak to eight games - every single game in their Stanley Cup Playoffs run. Pavel Buchnevich played at the top - the fifth forward on the ice, an unconventional lineup decision - and it paid off when he fed David Perron for his seventh goal of the postseason.
NOTEWORTHY STATS
- When a best-of-seven series is tied 1-1, the Blues hold an all-time series record of 7-8 (.467) when starting on the road. Colorado's corresponding record starting at home with a 1-1 tie is 5-6 (.455).
-Jordan Kyrou's goal in Game 2 was his fifth of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, bringing the Blues to an NHL-best four players at five or more goals this postseason. Kyrou joins Perron, Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly.
- Jordan Binnington earned his 20th career playoff win in Game 2, only trailing Tuukka Rask (22) and Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy (40) for most playoff wins in net since Binnington's postseason debut in 2019.
THEY SAID IT
"We came out hard, it was definitely a different feel (than Game 1). I think it's a great response by our club." - Goaltender Jordan Binnington after Game 2
"It's unfortunate, but it's 1-1. We get to go on the road and hopefully steal one there - hopefully two - and we gotta forget about it and move on, and get back to the way we can play." - Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon after Game 2
BLUE NOTES
The Blues now have 10 power-play goals this postseason, only trailing Tampa Bay (11) for the most in the NHL... David Perron became the first Blue to score seven goals through eight games in a single postseason since Shayne Corson in 1996... Ryan O'Reilly extended his point streak to six games, matching his playoff career high set during the 2019 Stanley Cup Final... Perron now sits fifth in franchise playoff history in multi-goal games (4) and game-winning goals (5). Brett Hull holds the top spot on both lists.
The St. Louis Blues elevated their play to earn a split following their first two games of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Avalanche will look for a better performance in Game 3 on Saturday in St. Louis.
Colorado claimed a 3-2 overtime win in the series opener on Tuesday before the Blues responded with a 4-1 victory on Thursday.
"They were better, and we were worse," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said following his team's Game 2 defeat.
"We were bad. We were really bad (Thursday)," Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon said. "We just didn't have our jump (Thursday). Our execution was off. Just weren't feeling it. Just fighting it out there."
MacKinnon is looking for a better performance from his team on Saturday.
"It's unfortunate, but it's 1-1," MacKinnon said. "We get to go on the road and hopefully steal one there, hopefully two, and we got to forget about it and move on and get back to the way we can play. We still feel like we're a great team. We have to forget about it and move on."
Colorado registered 54 shots on goal in Game 1, with St. Louis' Jordan Binnington making 51 saves to keep his team in the contest. Binnington, however, turned aside 30 of 31 shots in Game 2, and his teammates helped him by blocking 18 others before they made it on net.
St. Louis made dramatic improvement in the faceoff circle, winning 60.7 percent of its draws in Game 2 after winning just 35.8 percent in Game 1. That improved the team's puck possession.
"Well, I've seen it all year," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "We're a good team. We played good hockey all year. It's a good group of guys that want to win.
"They know Game 1 they didn't do well enough, and all year they've responded. You go over things, and you tell them why and you show them why, and they respond."
Berube stuck with the same lineup for Game 2, using 11 forwards and seven defensemen with veterans Marco Scandella and Torey Krug still missing from the blue line.
But he shuffled his forward lines, moving Pavel Buchnevich up to play with captain Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron on the top line. Buchnevich also ran the point on a 5-on-5 power play, which was another new wrinkle.
Perron scored twice in Game 2 and Buchnevich had two assists.
"We were pretty comfortable," Perron said. "Made some good plays. We also can be even better, which is a good sign when you play a good game."
The Avalanche received a power-play goal from captain Gabriel Landeskog on Thursday, but they were not able to get into their usual fast-paced game during 5-on-5 play.
"Our biggest issue, especially early on, was that no one wanted to skate with the puck," Bednar said. "They did a nice job in the neutral zone, but we didn't move."
Now they must get up to speed or risk making their fourth straight second-round exit.
"I think, years past, we might dwell on it and get down on ourselves and each other," MacKinnon said. "We just got to pick each other up and move on and stay positive. We still believe we can get this thing done and win the series."
