Blues winning streak ends at eight with rare loss to Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- The St. Louis Blues had an eight-game winning streak end with a 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Friday.

New Jersey had not defeated St. Louis since Jan. 21, 2014 (12 games).
Jordan Binnington made 28 saves for the Blues (40-18-10), the Central Division leaders who outscored opponents 28-13 in the eight consecutive wins. Binnington lost for the first time in seven starts, which included a 3-0 win against the Devils on Feb. 18.
WATCH: [All Blues vs. Devils highlights]
"They were the better team," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "We didn't execute very well with the puck, just a lot of bobbled pucks, missed passes. They were quicker and on us and we really didn't get to our game tonight."
Cory Schneider made 31 saves for his first home win of the season, and Dakota Mermis scored his first NHL goal for the Devils (27-28-12), who have won five straight home games and are 9-4-2 in their past 15 overall.
"I don't think we snuck one out or got lucky, but we matched them play for play and thought we were with them right until the end," Schneider said. "I give our guys a lot of credit. [St. Louis] is a tough team to handle down low with a lot of weapons, but my teammates worked hard and really battled tonight."
Schneider last won at home on March 25, 2019 (five games). He is 3-0-1 since being recalled from Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Feb. 20.
"I feel pretty active in the crease, feel like I'm finding pucks pretty well, point shots, maybe ones I was not seeing earlier in the year or maybe not quite working hard enough to locate," Schneider said. "Right now, I feel good about finding my windows and lanes and just getting eyes on the puck."
Mermis scored through a screen off a snap shot from the left face-off circle at 6:50 of the second period to give the Devils a 2-1 lead. Connor Carrick scored his first of the season with a snap shot from the top of the right face-off circle to make it 3-1 at 17:58.

"There's so much adrenaline in that moment (after scoring your first goal)," said Mermis, who played his 18th NHL game, eighth for New Jersey. "It's such a surreal moment but it's really good to get that win."
The 26-year-old defenseman played his first 10 NHL games for the Arizona Coyotes over the past two seasons. He signed with the Devils this offseason.
"I think everyone has different paths and it's certainly been the longer one for me, but I just keep working and believe in my ability to play here," he said. "You just keep shooting it. Eventually they're going to go in."
Jaden Schwartz scored with a wrist shot to get the Blues within 3-2 with 3:11 left in the third period. Joey Anderson scored an empty-net goal with 57 seconds remaining to make it 4-2.

"A lot of times you go on a streak and maybe you get bounces and find ways to win when you're not necessarily playing the way you want to play," Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo said. "We got away with it in (a 3-1 win at the New York Rangers on Tuesday) when we didn't play our best game and found a way to win. Coming in here, they got the bounces and we didn't and that's the end result."
Jesper Bratt scored with a wrist shot to give the Devils a 1-0 lead at 8:38 of the first period. Vince Dunn scored a power-play goal off a rebound from the right face-off circle to tie it 1-1 at 12:31.
"We've had more trust in each other of late and I think we're really starting to own our jobs," Carrick said. "We're more competitive against the guy directly across from us and more excited to have the puck because of that."

They said it

"We didn't get there very often and when we did they were quicker. They killed the play on us quite a bit. They had good sticks tonight, they were hungry and they got numbers in on us. They just won the puck battles more than we did, so you don't have the puck enough." -- Blues coach Craig Berube
"I thought we were ready from the drop of the puck. We got the lead and I felt that was critical. Anytime you play the defending Stanley Cup champs, it's a good measuring stick, and I'm proud of this group for going toe to toe with them and earning a victory." -- Devils goalie Cory Schneider

Need to know

Blues defenseman Justin Faulk was scratched with an upper-body injury and will be reevaluated Saturday. ... Blues forward Brayden Schenn had a five-game goal streak end. ... Schwartz has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 11 games against New Jersey. ... Bratt got his 100th NHL point in his 183rd game and has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past nine games.

What's next

Blues: At the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)
Devils: At the New York Rangers on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, MSG+, NHL.TV)