The Pittsburgh Penguins (27-31-10) played their second of a five-game homestand when they welcomed the St. Louis Blues (31-28-7) to PPG Paints Arena Thursday night. In the first meeting of the season between the two clubs, the Penguins took a 5-3 win despite multiple two-goal comeback attempts from the Blues.
For the third straight game, Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry got the nod as he made 33 saves for his third straight win. The Blues’ Jordan Binnington took the loss as he allowed four goals on 19 shots. Binnington’s replacement, Joel Hofer, stopped both shots he faced in 10 minutes of play.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. St. Louis Blues Recap
A good start from the Penguins saw them win a few board battles early. After not scoring all season, Ryan Graves tallied his first of the season just 2:17 into the game. Shortly after, the Blues turned things around in their favor to take complete control of the period, but Jarry was spectacular as he made saves on all 16 shots he faced. The Blues held a 16-5 shot advantage through 20 minutes.
The same as the first period, the Penguins found themselves on the board early in the second period to give themselves a 2-0 lead. Conor Timmins tallied his first goal since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline at 2:20 of the middle frame. On their first power play opportunity of the game, the Blues brought the game to within one as Zack Bolduc notched his 12th of the season. It was a night for the Penguins’ new deadline acquisitions as Connor Dewar joined Timmins in scoring his first goal as a Penguin, which was also his first of the season, to make it a 3-1 game with 2:18 to go in the second period.
With carry-over power-play time from the second period, the Blues made the Penguins pay yet again as Dylan Holloway made it a 3-2 game 1:26 into the final frame. For the third time, the Penguins saw themselves with a two-goal lead as Rickard Rakell made it a 4-2 game. With the goal, Binnington’s night was done as Hofer came on in relief. It took 1:41 for Alexey Toropchenko to bring the game back to 4-3 as he went 200 feet down the ice to roof a shot over Jarry’s glove. Pulling Hofer with a little more than two minutes left, the Blues put a ton of pressure on the Penguins. However, Rakell put home the empty netter with just six seconds left to extend the lead to 5-3 and their win streak to three games.
The two teams are back on the ice on Saturday (March 15). The Penguins host the New Jersey Devils for the final time this season. The Blues will head to St. Paul, MN for a meeting with the Minnesota Wild.
