Binnington makes 25 saves, Blues defeat Flyers

Jordan Binnington won for the first time since Jan. 9, making 25 saves for the St. Louis Blues in a 4-1 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

It was Binnington's first start since Feb. 10 and third in the past 10 games; he lost his previous three starts and allowed 18 goals.
"It's a tough league and it takes a lot of work, you can't let your foot off the gas," Binnington said. "You can't just do enough to get by, you've got to do more. It's tough when you feel you're not doing your part for the team.
"It just feels good to contribute tonight, and I'm just excited to keep working one day at a time and build it back. It happens in life. Stuff's not going to go your way. You've got to just keep fighting. That's the mindset, and it was fun to get a win with the boys."
Vladimir Tarasenko scored the go-ahead goal, and Ivan Barbashev had a goal and an assist for the Blues (30-14-6), who went 3-0-1 on a four-game road trip.

Oskar Lindblom scored, and Martin Jones made 22 saves for the Flyers (15-26-10), who have lost six in a row.
"I think we're very frustrated," Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux said. "[We played] a good game tonight most of the time. Some lines played very well, but again in the third, we just couldn't get it done."
Lindblom tied it 1-1 at 8:09 of the third period, a shot through traffic from near the left point along the wall. Tarasenko scored 42 seconds later at 8:51, a one-timer from the slot after a pass from Robert Thomas to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead.
"We know it's a shift after we give up a goal," Tarasenko said. "We just tried to have puck possession in the [offensive] zone, control the puck. Robby [made] a nice pass; he actually made a few of those this season and I never scored before, but we made a good play, created a chance for me, and it was a good job by all five guys on the ice. All five guys got involved. It was a good goal."
On Monday, the Flyers allowed a goal 1:56 after Patrick Brown scored in the third period of a 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
"Winning teams respond after a situation like that," Philadelphia coach Mike Yeo said. " … There's been a number of times this season, and even in this last couple weeks, where we've given up a goal the shift after a goal. Those are critical moments in the game. You've got the momentum, you have to reestablish it right away, you have to get back on your horse and get back on the attack. Obviously we got on our heels right away, and it ended up in the back of our net."

Brayden Schenn scored at 11:50 of the first period when he poked in a loose puck near the top of the crease to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.
Barbashev (19:07) and Brandon Saad (19:53) each scored an empty-net goal in the third for the 4-1 final.
Binnington, who won his first NHL start at Philadelphia on Jan. 7, 2019, entered with a 3.35 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage this season.
"He was going to play at some point, but it crossed everybody's mind a little bit, we discussed it," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "He was going to play at some point, but he did a [heck of a] job tonight. I thought he was active playing the puck, he looked sharp all game. Third period, we didn't look that great at the start and he held it together for us."
NOTES: Tarasenko has scored 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in his past 17 games. ... Schenn has scored three goals in his past four games and 10 points (six goals, four assists) in the past eight. ... Berube, who was 75-58-28 in two seasons as Flyers coach from 2013-15, coached his 240th game for the Blues to tie Jacques Demers for fifth in their history. ... Yeo faced St. Louis for the first time since he was fired Jan. 19, 2018; he was 73-49-11 in three seasons with the Blues after replacing Ken Hitchcock. ... Flyers forward Travis Konecny had an assist to extend his point streak to seven games (seven points; one goal, six assists). ... Philadelphia goalie Carter Hart missed his second game because of an eye infection. Yeo said he is hopeful Hart will be able to start against the Washington Capitals on Saturday.