Blues clinch Stanley Cup Playoff berth with win against Utah Hockey Club

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues scored four times in the first period and clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-1 win against Utah Hockey Club at Enterprise Center on Tuesday.

Although there were additional paths to the postseason depending on the results in other games on Tuesday, the Blues were assured a playoff berth with a regulation win.

“It feels really good, and I loved the way we did it,” said St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery, who was hired on Nov. 25 to replace Drew Bannister. “We got back to who we are for 60 minutes, and the first eight minutes, I knew we were going to win just by the way we were committed to playing north and playing to the goal line. I thought our forecheck was excellent and we made them defend.”

Jordan Kyrou scored twice, Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and two assists and Jimmy Snuggerud, Brayden Schenn and Zack Bolduc each had a goal and an assist. It was the first NHL goal for Snuggerud.

Robert Thomas had two assists to extend his point streak to 12 games for the Blues (44-30-8), who finished the regular season with 12 straight home wins. Jordan Binnington made 22 saves.

“Everyone knew the situation we were in,” said Blues defenseman Cam Fowler, who had two assists. “We just wanted to focus on the task at hand. We came out with a great start. That gave us a lot of momentum and a lot of energy and I think that obviously helped us settle into the game, which can be difficult when you kind of know what’s on the line.”

St. Louis was eight points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break and was fueled by a franchise-record 12-game winning streak from March 15-April 5.

“I feel like break really helped us,” Buchnevich said. “Every kind of (reset), thinking a little bit how their game (is) going. Now we start playing for each other, support everywhere, sacrifice, blocking shots. You look at all lines, everybody contribute. We come (together) as a team, but everybody likes to be around (each other). It’s positive energy every time and it’s helped us.”

The Blues will face the Winnipeg Jets in the first round. Winnipeg (55-22-4) finished first in the Central Division and won the Presidents' Trophy with the League's best record.

“A lot goes into it,” Schenn said. “This is what you play for. This is what you train for in the summer and this is what you play for all year to have a chance at the Stanley Cup. We just have to get in and anything can happen. We saw that years ago. We’ve been on a good run here and at the same time, just can’t be happy that we’re in and playing Winnipeg. Winnipeg’s obviously a good team and is going to present a good challenge for us, but I don’t think anyone gave us a chance, really, at the end of the day where we were. I’m glad we kept it together and too many good pieces in this locker room not to get in the playoffs and we felt if we played hard for one another, we can get the job done. It just took 82 games."

Clayton Keller scored for Utah (38-31-13), which was 4-0-1 in its previous five games. Karel Vejmelka, who started 24 of Utah's final 25 games, made 23 saves.

“Not much to say about that game,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “Our special teams did not make a difference and I don’t think we play really good. … It’s unfortunate because I think we had a really strong end of the season and a really good trip, but I have to give them credit. They had (two) days to get prepared for that game. To get into the playoffs on their side, they were well-prepared and for us, no excuses, but we were not prepared for them. On our side, I would have loved to finish on a different note, but I think our guys, they fought all season long. They showed a lot of pride. I have a ton of respect for the way they showed up in the second half.”

Schenn gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 8:08 of the first. Vejmelka stopped Snuggerud’s breakaway attempt, but Schenn followed up on the rebound.

Buchnevich made it 2-0 at 11:17, finishing off a Thomas pass from the bottom of the right circle.

Snuggerud scored power-play goal at the top of the crease at 14:45 to make it 3-0. Officials reviewed the goal to see if there was a distinct kicking motion, but the call on the ice stood as a good goal.

"Can't score with my stick, so I might as well score with my skate," Snuggerud said jokingly. "... It's nice that they called it a good goal."

Bolduc pushed it to 4-0 at 19:13 with a power-play goal, scoring on a quick one-timer just inside the top of the left circle after a Thomas pass from the left corner.

Keller cut Utah’s deficit to 4-1 at 5:40 of the second on a one-timer from the top of the right circle six seconds after Nathan Walker was called for cross-checking.

Kyrou made it 5-1 at 6:59 of the third period with the Blues' third power-play goal, scoring on a one-timer from the slot. He scored again at 17:24 for a 6-1 final.

“All guys were contributing,” Fowler said. “We were playing the brand and style of hockey that we wanted. But our start was a big reason why we were able to get that win tonight.”

NOTES: Thomas finished with 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) during his point streak and 30 points (four goals, 26 assists) the final 17 games. The center left the game in the third period with a lower-body injury, but Montgomery said it was for precautionary reasons and he thinks Thomas is fine. … Kyrou finished with eight points (five goals, three assists) in the final seven games. … Buchnevich scored in six of the final eight games. … Keller finished the season with 10 points (five goals, five assists) in six games.