Binnington returns to net as Blues fall to Rangers, 2-1

Tom Timmermann, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Dec 18, 2025

Published in Hockey

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ST. LOUIS — Jordan Binnington was in goal for the Blues on Thursday for the first time since Dec. 11, and he finished the game for the first time since Dec. 7.

After three straight games with Joel Hofer in goal, the Blues went back to Binnington against the Rangers and the rest did him well. He stopped 28 shots and allowed just one goal in regulation, his best game in almost a month.

But that wasn’t enough to get the Blues the win as the Rangers’ J.T. Miller scored 2:21 into overtime to give New York a 2-1 victory over the Blues at Enterprise Center.

The Blues outshot the Rangers 11-4 in the third period, a marked change from the earlier stages of the game, but they couldn’t score, sending the game to overtime. Each team had one shot in overtime, but it was the one by the Rangers that won it.

In the two games of its back-to-back games, the Blues allowed just two goals but couldn’t get the full four points.

The Blues leave on Friday for two games in Florida, starting on Saturday against the Panthers.

Welcome to period 2

A 1-0 lead was enough for the Blues on Wednesday against Winnipeg but it wasn’t going to be enough against the Rangers. And considering how the Blues have played in the second period this season, this seemed like a time it might happen.

Justin Faulk was sent off for tripping with 15:53 to go in the second. As the power play wound down, Noah Laba threaded a cross-ice pass to Will Cuylle, whose shot hit the skate of Gabe Perreault, who was called up from the AHL on Wednesday, in front of the net and deflected into the net for his first NHL goal.

The Blues didn’t allow any more goals, but they didn’t score any, and they didn’t lack for opportunities. The Blues had three power plays in the second period, and not only didn’t score on any of them, managed only four shots on goal from six minutes with an extra player on the ice. The Blues had some chances, especially on the last one, where Faulk and Brayden Schenn both got the puck in prime scoring positions but couldn’t do anything with them.

Berggren’s first

The Blues had little to no offense for the first 18 minutes of the first period, at one point going 9:50 between shots on goal before an innocent shot by Pavel Buchnevich with 1:52 to go in the period gave them three.

But 50 seconds later, the Blues were on the board. Dalibor Dvorsky knocked the puck away from the Rangers’ Vladislav Gavrikov, Jonatan Berggren collected it and from a tight angle along the goal line, and with a fly-by screen by Dvorsky, found a corner over Igor Shesterkin’s shoulder to make it 1-0.

For Berggren, claimed by the Blues on waivers from Detroit on Tuesday, it was his third goal of the season but first for the Blues.

The Blues finished the period with five shots on goal, and got two of them from Alexey Toropchenko, who got a promotion to the top line along with Robert Thomas and Buchnevich as coach Jim Montgomery gave Robbie Fabbri the night off after seeing the new acquisition starting to lose some of his energy as he got back to playing NHL hockey.

“I think he got here and his first two games were excellent,” Montgomery said Thursday morning. “I think his last two games, and I spoke to him about this, a little less juice in his legs, not being as impactful on a back to back. It’s a lot, right? He wasn’t in a training camp. He’s not in the same hockey shape as everyone else. So it’s just an opportunity, and (Matt) Luff has been really good for us. We’re playing a bigger, heavier team tonight on a back to back that’s fresh. So just get a fresh body. It really wasn’t a negative of anything of (Fabbri’s) play and you expect him to be back in the lineup soon.”