Binnington makes 31 saves, Blues hold off Senators 2-1
By Steve Overbey, The Associated Press on January 16, 2023.
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Jake Neighbours and Noel Acciari scored first-period goals and Jordan Binnington made 31 saves to lead the St. Louis Blues over the Ottawa Senators 2-1 on Monday night. St. Louis broke a two-game skid and beat the Senators for the seventh time in nine meetings. Tim Stutzle scored for Ottawa, which has lost four of five. Acciari pounced on a miscue by Senators goalie Cam Talbot to make it 2-0. Talbot partially fanned on a clearing attempt, giving Acciari an open net. Neighbours scored from close range off a pass from Calle Rosen, who broke loose on the right wing. Ottawa ended a four-period scoring drought when Stutzle converted from the slot in the second off a pass from Brady Tkachuk, a St. Louis native. Stutzle leads the Senators with 19 goals. St. Louis, which is 9-10-2 at home, managed just 12 shots over the first two periods. Binnington, who lost two of his three previous starts, improved to 17-14-3. He stopped a backhander from Claude Giroux from close range with 5:37 left. St. Louis earned its 2,000th win all-time, becoming the eighth NHL team to reach that mark. The Blues entered the league in 1967. Talbot made 18 saves for the Senators, who were coming off a 7-0 loss to Colorado on Saturday. INJURY UPDATES Ottawa D Artem Zub sat out after sustaining a lower-body injury Saturday. “¦ St. Louis RW Vladimir Tarasenko is expected back some time this week. He participated in the pre-game skate Monday. Tarasenko has been out since Dec. 31 with a hand injury. UP NEXT Senators: Host the Penguins on Wednesday before a rematch in Pittsburgh on Friday. Blues: Take on Nashville on Thursday in their fifth successive home game. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports 18-17
