In Edmonton, Nazem Kadri scored on the power-play with 0-1 seconds left in regulation to send the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-1 win over the St Louis Blues in each team’s first seeding round robin game.
“It was a bit of an extended power-play shift there, but we felt like we had possession, we had pressure,” Kadri said. “It was just a relentless effort by the guys. I felt like I should have had one earlier that I kind of whiffed on, and it was nice to get it back.”
Philipp Grubauer made 31 saves to earn the victory.
“I think the last game was really helpful to get that intensity going and to get that edge going,” Grubauer said. “The first period today was a little bit of a weird one; there were not too many shots, (but) the guys did an unbelievable job of putting everything to the outside. That made it easy for me. I felt pretty good today even though it’s been a while.”
The Blues held a 1-0 lead off a goal from David Perron in the 17th minute of the fist period.
“I knew it was close,” St. Louis center Ryan O’Reilly said. “Obviously, they looked at it enough. It’s frustrating to lose like that, especially when [Binnington] played outstanding and (would have given) us a chance to win it in OT. It’s a frustrating play. It is what it is, though, and we have to find a way to respond.
“[Binnington] didn’t miss a beat. For how bad we played when we started, he’s the reason why we had a chance to win. If we’re better in front of him, we’re a great team. We have to find a way to help him a lot more. Just save after save. We need to help out more.”
Ryan Graves struck for the tying goal at 5:33 of the third.
“We feel like we can go and play with and beat anyone,” Avs head coach Jared Bednar said. “If we didn’t feel that way, then we shouldn’t be here. That game tonight could’ve gone either way. We had a real good start. I think they were the better team in the second, [and] the third was really exciting. We traded chances, there was a lot going on. We’re fortunate to come out on top.
“The next challenge will be Dallas and Vegas, and those two teams should feel the same way we do, the same way St. Louis does.”
The Avs now get ready for the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, followed by the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
“Grubauer tonight, he was excellent,” Bednar said. “It’s a perfect shot that beats him on the first one, and after that he doesn’t give up anything. He’s a gamer. He made some big saves at the right times in the third period for us when they got dangerous.”
[WATCH: All Blues vs. Avalanche highlights]
Jordan Binnington made 36 saves in the loss.
“In the first period, we were just on our heels, didn’t make enough plays, we gave the puck back too much,” Blues head coach Craig Berube said. “They had good jump early and [Binnington] was good, but we gave up too many shots in the first. We got our game going in the second; we played pretty well in the second and third. I’m pretty pleased with a lot of it, but we have to get better.”
The Blues will have rebound against Vegas this Thursday and then Dallas on next Sunday.
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