Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington skates against the Red Wings in the first period of a game Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Detroit.
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EDMONTON, Alberta — About halfway through the third period of the Blues’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Oilers on Wednesday night, Jordan Binnington heard it from the Rogers Place crowd.
He’d just made a save on Evan Bouchard’s slap shot from the point and collided with Edmonton forward Zach Hyman on the edge of the crease. Officials stopped play shortly after, and the Oilers faithful booed Binnington as he was checked on by athletic trainer Ray Barile.
After the game, when Binnington was asked whether Hyman’s elbow connected with his head, he said he hadn’t seen the play.
“I didn’t see it, but I feel like it’s been happening a lot lately with goalies getting hit, sideswiped, blindsided like that,” Binnington said. “I definitely had some contact, but I don’t think he’s meaning to do anything. It’s just something to be aware of moving forward, I’d say.”
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Binnington said he’s noticed a trend both around the NHL and in Blues games.
“It’s hockey and stuff happens, but I think around the net, there’s been some dangerous plays on some netminders, so something to be aware of,” Binnington said.
This season, neither the Blues nor their opponents have been called for a goaltender interference penalty. St. Louis has overturned two goals this season due to goalie interference thanks to coach’s challenges.
Big minutes at the back
The Blues leaned heavily on their top four defensemen on Wednesday night, as Colton Parayko (27:58), Torey Krug (25:31), Nick Leddy (25:08) and Justin Faulk (22:35) each skated above their season averages. For Parayko, it was the most minutes he played since Jan. 11 against the Rangers (28:25).
“Playing D is not playing forward,” Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. “There’s less miles to be covered at times, so they can handle the minutes. On a back-to-back with travel, it’s difficult. I thought they did a great job, those four guys. It’s a tough matchup whoever you’re against, but I thought they came out, they competed hard, they did the right things.”
At five on five, the Blues defense played Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Hyman tough, as Edmonton held just a slight edge in shot attempts (17 to 15) when that line was on the ice. Shots on goal (nine each) and goals (one each) were even.
“It’s not easy coming on a back-to-back obviously,” Binnington said. “We fought hard. Guys played a lot of minutes the last two days, especially on the back end. They really dug in and we gave ourselves a chance to win. It’s an unfortunate outcome, but guys really played hard and we left it on the ice.”
The Blues’ third pair of Marco Scandella (9:52) and Tyler Tucker (9:22) combined for 30 shifts, all at even strength.
Knocking off the dust
Blues forward Nikita Alexandrov played in just his second game since the All-Star break Wednesday night, playing on the fourth line and logging 9:01 of ice time in 13 shifts.
Alexandrov was in the lineup as the Blues scratched veteran winger Kasperi Kapanen.
“I thought Niki played well,” Bannister said. “There’s some real good plays he made defensively. I thought his stick was good. I liked his game here tonight. Our whole lineup played well. I thought everybody came to play here tonight.”
When Alexandrov was on the ice at five on five, the Blues were outshot 6-4 and Edmonton had a 16-7 edge in shot attempts. He was credited with one shot on goal, two shot attempts, two hits and one blocked shot.
A rare blown lead
Wednesday’s overtime loss was just the third time this season the Blues lost after scoring the game’s first goal, and they are now 24-2-1 when scoring the first goal. The three total losses are the fewest in the NHL.
The previous two times this season were Dec. 12 against Detroit (which preceded Craig Berube’s firing) and Jan. 9 against Florida when the Panthers scored the final five goals of the game.
It was also the fourth time this season that Blues blew a multigoal lead, though they won two of the previous three games. On Jan. 24, Vancouver came back from two down (2-0 and 3-1) before St. Louis won in overtime. The Sabres erased a 3-0 deficit Nov. 30 in an eventual 6-4 Blues win. And Vegas was down 3-1 on Dec. 6 before storming back for a 6-3 win.
The Blues are also 6-24-2 when allowing the first goal, which is the third-fewest wins in the league.
The Blues did not practice Thursday as they traveled back to St. Louis from Edmonton.
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