Binnington ties Blues’ all-time wins record with shootout victory against Sharks

ST. LOUIS -- Jordan Binnington tied the St. Louis Blues’ all-time record for wins with a 3-2 shootout victory against the San Jose Sharks at Enterprise Center on Thursday.

Binnington, who made 22 saves and stopped all three shootout attempts, tied Mike Liut with his 151st win in his 296th NHL game.

"It's funny. He's been giving it to me to get this thing going before you kill the buzz," Binnington said of Liut, who is also his agent. "I'm happy I'm up there with him and I'm proud to be up there. It's a big night for me."

Nathan Walker and Jordan Kyrou scored for the Blues (9-11-1), who had won one of their previous seven games (1-5-1). Jake Neighbours scored the lone shootout goal.

"It (winning) was important for playing on home ice and for our crowd and going on the road right now," said Blues coach Drew Bannister, whose team begins a three-game road trip at the New York Islanders on Saturday. "I think it was important for us to win this hockey game for the fans that come to support us. That's a good step in the right direction here moving forward on to the road."

Alex Wennberg scored twice, and Mikael Granlund and Macklin Celebrini each had two assists for the Sharks (6-11-5), who lost 5-2 at the Dallas Stars on Wednesday and have one win in their past six (1-2-3). Yaroslav Askarov made 29 saves in his San Jose debut; he was traded from the Nashville Predators on Aug. 23.

Wennberg tied it 2-2 with nine seconds left in the third period with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle with Askarov pulled for the extra attacker.

"It's nice when the team needs it, you kind of step up and score the goals," Wennberg said. "It's a full team effort; it's not one player. Obviously we're all working together. Six-on-five, we have a game plan and it's a full team effort for sure."

Celebrini gave the Sharks the opportunity to tie it when he dove and poke-checked the puck away from Robert Thomas, denying him a chance at the empty net with 2:22 remaining in the third.

Neighbours scored on St. Louis' third attempt in the shootout, putting the puck onto his backhand and then forehand before shooting past Askarov’s glove. Binnington made a save on William Eklund to end it.

"I try not to think about it too much, just try to watch the guys before me and kind of see what [Askarov's] stance is like," Neighbours said. "[Assistant coach David Alexander's] obviously radioing down from the top and giving us some tips. We looked at a little video quick before the shootout, but at the end of the day, every player's kind of got a couple go-tos and that was one of mine."

Walker put St. Louis up 1-0 just 11 seconds into the first period when he converted in front off a pass from Radek Faksa, who intercepted Askarov's rim around the boards.

"I think if you can just have a good shift in itself, let alone get a goal on the first shift, it kind of sets the tone for the game," Walker said. "'Faks' made a great heads-up play for me there."

Askarov felt he was able to settle into the game after an unsettling start.

"The first 11 seconds was probably the best play of my season so far," Askarov said jokingly. "After, it was pretty good."

Wennberg tied it 1-1 at 8:23 with a power-play goal from a sharp angle to Binnington's left, putting it under the goalie's right arm off Granlund’s pass from behind the net.

Kyrou gave the Blues a 2-1 lead at 11:47 of the second period when he poked Pierre-Olivier Joseph's centering feed from the left corner through Askarov's pads.

NOTES: Celebrini had a game-high 10 shot attempts and played 23:09, his most ice time in his 10 NHL games. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft has four points (one goal, three assists) in two games against the Blues. ... Granlund has six points (two goals, four assists) in a four-game point streak. ... Eklund's five-game point streak ended. ... Binnington is 151-102-32 for his NHL career. ... Walker’s goal is tied for the sixth-fastest in Blues history. ... Joseph played 15:53 and was plus-2 after missing the previous three game with a lower-body injury. ... St. Louis ended a four-game home losing streak in which it was outscored 19-7.