Avalanche hang on, end Blues' team-record 16-game point streak
Colorado ties its season points mark; St. Louis remains tied for second in Central
By
Ryan Boulding
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
The Blues were 14-0-2 during their streak.
Artturi Lehkonen scored the game-winning goal, Alex Newhook and J.T. Compher each had two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves for the Avalanche (56-18-6), who tied their record for points in a season set in 2000-01 with 118.
"They've been playing awesome," Erik Johnson said. "They have so many guys with so many points and three super deep lines, and they're not even fully healthy yet. Neither are we. It was a hard-fought game, had a playoff atmosphere, and I think that's probably what we needed just to get back feeling the way we needed to."
The Avalanche, who have clinched the top seed in the Western Conference, pulled within two points of the Florida Panthers for No. 1 in the NHL. The Panthers lost 4-2 to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
"I don't think there's such a thing as a perfect game," Johnson said. "I think there's always going to be some lapses throughout the course of a hockey game. It's a game mistakes, and there's always going to be some made. Some are gonna cost you. Some aren't. I think what we got tonight is what we needed. I think it was a game that was important for us to play the right way, and we did for the majority of the game. And it felt it felt good. I think the guys needed that one."
Ryan O'Reilly scored two goals, Jordan Kyrou had three assists, and Jordan Binnington made 29 saves for the Blues (49-21-11), who hadn't lost in regulation since March 26.
St. Louis is second in the Central Division, tied with the Minnesota Wild. The Blues have played one more game but have seven more regulation wins.
"It wasn't our best effort tonight. We know that," O'Reilly said. "I think we were a little nervous. We knew they were going to be extremely desperate and mostly on their toes. We wanted to be safe and do the right thing, and for them they got the momentum and it's tough to get it back from those guys. They move the puck so well. They skate so well. It's tough."
Valeri Nichushkin scored to make it 1-0 with a wrist shot from above the right face-off circle at 2:38 of the second period.
"I thought he was a beast tonight," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "He was on pucks all over the ice, and that's the sort of tenaciousness that we need. He's been bringing it even through the slump."
Johnson pushed the lead to 2-0 when he finished a rebound into an open net at 4:49 of the period.
Josh Manson made it 3-0 with a wrist shot from the point at 8:03.
"We didn't get rewarded in the first period, but then it came in the second and then a little bit in the third," Manson said. "I thought we had a lot of chances in the first, and we controlled the majority of that game."
Brandon Saad made it 3-1 at 13:01 of the second when he redirected Kyrou's pass into the net for a power-play goal.
"It's frustrating, especially because we felt like we played a good first period," Blues defenseman Torey Krug said. "We thought that if we got the first [goal], it'd go a long way and unfortunately it kind of unraveled on us. We responded pretty well in the third period, obviously too little too late."
Lehkonen extended the lead to 4-1 when he scored five-hole nine seconds into the third period.
"It can't happen," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said of the play.
O'Reilly made it 4-2 after he redirected Kyrou's shot with his leg at 15:45, then scored again to make it 4-3 at 16:49.
"They were a little more desperate than us," O'Reilly said. "We just didn't respond quick enough to it."
Kadri scored an empty-net goal at 19:14 for the 5-3 final.
NOTES: Blues defenseman Marco Scandella left the game in the third period with a lower-body injury. … Johnson's goal was his 68th with the Avalanche, tying him with John-Michael Liles for third place by a defenseman in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history. He trails Tyson Barrie (75) and Sandis Ozolinsh (72). … Colorado's 63 goals from defensemen set a team record and are the most in the NHL since the 1992-93 Washington Capitals had 94. … Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews returned after missing four games with minor injuries. He was plus-2 in 24:07. … Krug had an assist in his return after missing three games with an upper-body injury.
