Binnington makes 32 saves, Blues defeat Senators

ST. LOUIS -- Jordan Binnington made 32 saves for the St. Louis Blues in a 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at Enterprise Center on Monday.

"Every game's kind of different," Binnington said. "Tonight it felt like we got that two-goal lead, I think we would've liked to press a little harder, keep the foot on the gas. Going into the third period, 2-1 hockey game, they don't score another one and we win the game. That's kind of the mindset, and it worked out."
Noel Acciari and Jake Neighbours scored for the Blues (22-20-3), who lost their previous two games and are 2-2-0 on a season-long seven-game homestand.
"Yeah, they work," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said of the Senators. "They play hard, they've got some good skill, some high-end players that are still young. They've got a lot of good players and they're a hard-working team.
"I think we did a good job. There were some shots in the third period that we gave up that we should have had covered, and we didn't. That's one area that's got to be better. Overall, I think we did a pretty good job."
Tim Stutzle
scored, and Cam Talbot made 18 saves for the Senators (19-21-3), who have lost four of five after winning four of five.
"I think we played pretty well," Stutzle said. "I think we could have deserved to win tonight, but in the end, that's how it goes sometimes. I felt like we stuck with it. We played really good in the third as well, had so many opportunities to score. But in the end, if we keep playing the right way, I think there will be a lot of wins."

Neighbours gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 5:30 of the first period, driving the net and poking in defenseman Calle Rosen's centering pass driving in off the right flank.
"It's kind of cliche just go to the net with your stick on the ice and hope somebody finds you," Neighbours said. "[Josh Leivo] had a good quick-up I think to 'Rosy' there, and Rosy made an unreal pass. I was just leaning on that stick and hoping it would just bounce off it."
Acciari made it 2-0 at 15:06 when he was able to poke-check a puck away from Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot, then followed up the puck that Talbot missed on and slid it in under the goalie's paddle.
"I was excited," Acciari said. "Good play in the [defensive] zone by Leivo, getting a good chip out and making it a 50/50 puck. I was able to get a stick on it, [Talbot] fumbled it, and I cashed in. Very fortunate there."

Stutzle cut it to 2-1 at 13:52 of the second period, scoring in the slot on a one-timer off a feed from behind the net by Brady Tkachuk after Justin Faulk's turnover behind the net.
The Senators had 12 shots on goal in the third period, including two from forward Claude Giroux that Binnington made point-blank saves against. Binnington redirected the first at 11:50 and gloved Giroux's backhand from the slot at 14:23.
"The effort was there," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "Right now, the puck isn't going in for us. Going forward, we're going to have to score some goals."
The Senators were pleased with their response following what Tkachuk called "an embarrassing performance" in a 7-0 loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
"Hardworking," said Tkachuk, the Ottawa captain. "Didn't get the result we wanted, but everyone left it out there tonight."
Binnington made the difference in the third.
"He was excellent, made a lot of big saves," Berube said. "First Star."
NOTES: The win was the 2,000th in Blues history, becoming the eighth NHL franchise to reach the feat and second non-Original Six team to do so (Philadelphia Flyers have 2,121). ... Senators forward Mathieu Joseph was expected to play but was scratched with a lower-body injury and missed his 17th straight game since Dec. 8. ... Ottawa defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, recalled from Belleville of the American Hockey League on Sunday, played 20:56 and had five of the Senators' 20 blocked shots; he replaced Artem Zub, who was scratched with a lower-body injury. ... St. Louis forward Nikita Alexandrov was a late scratch with an upper-body injury, and Berube said he's day to day. ... The Blues have won seven of their past nine games against the Senators.