In Glendale, Jordan Binnington made 21 saves to drive the St Louis Blues to a 4-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes Thursday night.
Robert Bortuzzo scored his second goal of the season in win over Arizona – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
For Binnington, it was his third shutout.
Vladimir Tarasenko struck twice for the Blues as they won their eighth straight game.
“I got away early in the season from counting my goals and points, and tried to enjoy the game,” Tarasenko said. “But I’m not going to lie, it feels nice. It feels nicer helping the team win.”
Joel Edmundson and Robert Bortuzzo each scored their second goals of the season.
“It wasn’t perfect game, but we played good enough,” Edmundson said. “I don’t think we gave them too much, but when they had a chance, [Binnington] was there to save us.”
The Blues are getting contributions from across the bench during their win streak.
“Before the game, me and [fellow defenseman Bortuzzo] were talking that we both needed to get one tonight,” Edmundson said. “It was nice for him to get one too. We were both due for a goal. Whenever a guy like me or [Bortuzzo] scores, it gets the whole team going.”
The Blues improved to 29-22-5.
“We were sloppy early and gave them a two-goal lead, and they locked it down,” Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said. “They sat back, and we didn’t penetrate much. It seemed like every time they shot, they scored.”
The Coyotes dropped to 25-29-5.
“They’ve been the hottest team in the NHL of late, and we knew it was going to be a tough game, one we should have been ready for,” Coyotes forward Brad Richardson said. “We didn’t play very good in the first, we got down, and then they didn’t give us much and we couldn’t generate much.”
[WATCH: All Blues vs. Coyotes highlights]
Darcy Kuemper made 20 saves in the loss.
“Some guys worked hard and some guys were a little sluggish. [Binnington] looked good,” Tocchet said. “I don’t know if he got tested, but he looked big in the net. To St. Louis, you’ve got to be quicker on the puck than them, but early on we were sluggish.”
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