Schenn scores twice to lead Blues past Panthers, 6-2
Feb 14, 2023, 5:46 AM | Updated: 9:26 pm
St. Louis Blues' Torey Krug (47) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
(AP Photo/Scott Kane)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brayden Schenn scored twice and Jordan Binnington made 34 saves to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
Ryan O’Reilly, Jordan Kyrou, Ivan Barbashev and Nick Leddy also scored for the Blues, who won their second in a row following a five-game losing streak.
Carter Verhaeghe and Eetu Luostarinen scored for Florida, which had won four of five.
The Blues scored first when Schenn deflected a shot by Torey Krug that bounced off the back wall and kicked off the skate of goalie Spencer Knight.
“You need some goals like that every once in a while,” Schenn said. “Not pretty by any means, but I’ll take it.”
Schenn converted on a wrist shot from inside the circle 25 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0.
“We’re just kind of playing for one another right now, playing hard,” Schenn said. “We go game by game now, trying to grab two points each night.”
O’Reilly and Kyrou scored 20 seconds apart in the third period to push the lead to 5-1. Kyrou leads the team with 24 goals.
Barbashev, the subject of trade speculation, also had two assists.
Binnington stopped 17 of 18 shots in the third and improved to 20-18-3 with his second successive win.
“I thought we got contributions from a lot of guys,” St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. “We played a pretty solid game from the goaltender on out.”
The Blues have scored six goals in each of their last two games since trading longtime sniper Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Niko Mikkola to the New York Rangers.
“The past two games after the break, obviously, we’re playing good hockey,” Schenn said.
Knight made 22 saves for Florida, which fell to 11-6-2 since Jan. 3. The Panthers were coming off a 2-1 win over Minnesota on Monday.
The Panthers came in averaging an NHL-best 36.1 shots per game.
St. Louis has killed off the last 13 penalties against Florida.
“We weren’t at our best tonight,” Verhaeghe said. “It was a little frustrating.”
BANGED UP
The Blues lost Krug and winger Brandon Saad to upper-body injuries during the game. Krug played 7:58, and Saad 9:32.
MILESTONE
Leddy played in his 900th career game, becoming the 528th player in NHL history to reach that plateau. The defenseman’s first game came with Chicago at Colorado on Oct. 7, 2010.
“For me it was a special night,” Leddy said. “Just trying to create some offense when I can.”
PANTHERS HONOR VICTIMS
Panthers players wore T-shirts into the arena honoring victims of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on the fifth anniversary of the tragedy. The shirts had the names of the 17 people who were killed. Many players have formed relationships with the families of those victims.
“Anything we can do to support a cause like that is real good. We’re a family here in South Florida,” Verhaeghe said.
UP NEXT
Panthers: Continue their road trip Thursday at Washington.
Blues: Host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
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