Penguins Fall To Blues 5-1
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PITTSBURGH (AP) - Vince Dunn scored twice and Pat Maroon had a goal and an assist as the St. Louis Blues defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Saturday.
Maroon scored his sixth for the Blues, who ended a three-game losing streak, which matched their longest skid of the season. Dunn connected in the first period and added a late power-play goal. Dunn's 10th goal gave three St. Louis defensemen 10 or more goals in a season for the first time in franchise history
Former Pittsburgh draft pick Oskar Sundqvist scored his 13th goal and Jay Bouwmeester his third for the Blues.
Jordan Binnington made 40 saves for St. Louis. Binnington has 17 wins and five shutouts in his first 22 starts. He also has 10 wins in his first 13 road games with four shutouts. Binnington is one of 11 goaltenders in NHL history to win eight of his first 10 career road starts.
Dominik Simon scored his eighth for Pittsburgh as the Blues snapped the Penguins' three-game winning streak. Pittsburgh previously won six of seven, including a 5-0 shutout Thursday at Buffalo, and earned points in nine of 10 games.
Matt Murray allowed four goals on just 13 shots before he was replaced by Casey DeSmith. DeSmith made 12 saves.
St. Louis scored just three goals during its three-game slide, which included a shutout Thursday at Ottawa, the worst team in the NHL. The Blues also scored two or fewer goals in nine of their previous 11 games, but they needed only 23 minutes and 13 shots to score four against Pittsburgh. Since an 11-game win streak from Jan. 23-Feb. 19, the Blues have won five of 12 games.
Both teams started the day in third place, Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division, and St. Louis in the Central Division. But the Eastern and Western Conference wild cards remain within striking distance; both teams are not assured a playoff spot.
Sundqvist, the Penguins' third-round pick in 2012, opened the scoring 4:56 in when he converted a one-timer from inside the right circle. Dunn gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead later in the period when he beat Murray with a glove-side wrist shot from between the circles.
The Blues took a 4-0 lead with goals in the first 2:41 of the second period. Maroon scored 1:31 in from the top of the crease and then set up Bouwmeester's goal, a one-timer from between the circles just 1:10 later.
Simon scored Pittsburgh's lone goal at 9:53 of the second period, converting a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle.
Binnington stopped Penguins captain Sidney Crosby on a second-period breakaway, and Phil Kessel missed the net while in alone in the third.
Pittsburgh's power play was 5 of 8 the previous two games, and the Penguins also scored four power-play goals when the teams met in St. Louis on Dec. 29. But Pittsburgh went 0 for 4 with the man advantage Saturday.
NOTES: The Blues have earned points in seven straight games in Pittsburgh. They have won eight of their last 11 in Pittsburgh. . The Penguins honored Evgeni Malkin for reaching 1,000 career points on Tuesday against Washington. . St. Louis activated David Perron from injured reserve after he missed 24 games with an upper-body injury. The Blues sent Jordan Kyrou to the club's American Hockey League affiliate in San Antonio. . Penguins' D Kris Letang (upper body) missed his 10th game, and F Bryan Rust (lower body) his ninth. Both are day to day and took contact during practice on Friday.
UP NEXT
Blues: close a three-game road trip at Buffalo on Sunday.
Penguins: host Philadelphia on Sunday.
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