Blues top Avalanche, set franchise mark with 12th straight win

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues set a franchise record with their 12th straight win when they held on for a 5-4 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Enterprise Center on Saturday.

On Thursday, the Blues tied the mark originally set by the 2019 Stanley Cup-winning team that won 11 in a row from Jan. 23-Feb. 19, 2019. It's also the longest winning streak in the NHL this season, surpassing the Winnipeg Jets, who won 11 straight from Jan. 22-Feb. 27.

“It’s very cool,” said Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who was part of the 2019 team. “It’s good to enjoy these moments, especially at home. It’s really fun to play here right now and you can tell there’s good energy all around. At the same time, we’ve got to focus and keep looking forward while we’re here.”

Robert Thomas had a goal and three assists to extend his point streak to eight games (four goals, 15 assists), Cam Fowler had three assists, and Zack Bolduc scored two power-play goals for the Blues (43-28-7), who moved four points ahead of the Minnesota Wild for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Binnington made 35 saves, winning his seventh straight start.

“I am proud of that group in there to be able to overcome all of the adversity that we've had this year, whether that was self-inflicted by us,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. “It doesn't matter. We've overcome it. I'm proud of that group for what they've achieved.”

Ross Colton, Miles Wood, Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Malinski scored for the Avalanche (47-27-4), who lost for just the third time in nine games (6-2-1). Mackenzie Blackwood made 17 saves.

“I liked the fact that we stuck with it and didn’t let it get out of hand because there was a point there where it might,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said, citing a 4-0 deficit. “We had a tough time getting going tonight. Just not ready to start the game tonight. I thought our top guys had a tough time getting going tonight and they struggled a little bit. But the bottom six forwards did a nice job, stuck with their identity and work ethic, scored a couple big goals for us. So, there’s things to like through our lineup and there’s other things I really didn’t like.”

The Avalanche have clinched a spot in the playoffs and trail the Dallas Stars by six points for second place in the Central Division.

Bolduc’s power-play goal 49 seconds into the first period made it 1-0, a one-timer from the slot off a centering pass from Thomas.

Jake Neighbours made it 2-0 at 7:41 when Thomas found him in the low slot for a quick backhand past Blackwood.

Pavel Buchnevich made it 3-0 at 1:01 of the second period when he took Jimmy Snuggerud’s pass at the top of the crease and beat Blackwood with a backhand.

“We’re playing the right way,” Buchnevich said. “We’re playing for each other. Sacrifice for the team and it’s working right now. We should keep going.”

Bolduc pushed it 4-0 at 8:53 with a snap shot from the high slot off a pass from Thomas on the power play.

“You’ve got to be ready,” Bolduc said. “I’ve been trying to find the open space. You never know when the puck’s going to come your way. I just try to set myself up and be ready to shoot. I want to hit the net, for sure.”

Colton cut the deficit to 4-1 at 15:32 with a tap in at the top of the crease off a pass from Logan O'Connor after Blues defenseman Nick Leddy fell down at the blue line.

Wood made it 4-2 at 17:45. Charlie Coyle pounced on a loose pass in the right circle, drove to the goal line and hit Wood with a drop pass for a quick snap shot in the slot.

MacKinnon brought the Avalanche within 4-3 at 17:42 of the third period with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle with Blackwood on the bench for an extra skater.

“Good push in the third period,” Bednar said. “It felt like we got more into the game as the game went along.”

Thomas scored into the empty net to make it 5-3 at 19:29, and Malinski scored at 19:51 for the 5-4 final.

NOTES: The Blues have outscored their opponents 51-22 during their winning streak. … Binnington won his 10th straight start on home ice to set a franchise record. … MacKinnon has 53 points (19 goals, 34 assists) in 50 games against St. Louis and extended his point streak to seven games (four goals, six assists).