Blues jump out to 3-0 lead, hang on to beat Flyers

[April 05, 2023]  Alexey Toropchenko and Justin Faulk each had a goal and an assist to lead the host St. Louis Blues to a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.  

Jordan Kyrou and Tyler Pitlick also scored for St. Louis (36-35-7, 79 points), which has won three of its past five games (3-1-1).

Apr 4, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) attempts to screen St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) makes a save during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Binnington made 32 saves for the Blues, who have been eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in the past five seasons.

James van Riemsdyk and Morgan Frost scored for the Flyers (29-35-13, 71 points), who have dropped four straight (0-3-1) and will miss the playoffs for the third straight season. Goalie Samuel Ersson made 28 saves.

The Flyers outshot the Blues 34-32 and each team went 0-for-3 on man-advantage opportunities.

Trailing 3-0 entering the third period, the Flyers got on the board when van Riemsdyk deflected Nick Seeler's shot from the point past Binnington to make it 3-1 at the 5:51 mark. Scott Laughton was also credited with an assist on the play.

Philadelphia pulled to within 3-2 when Frost scored on a rebound off Cam York's shot from the point with 8:17 remaining.

Toropchenko secured the win with an empty-net goal off assists from Faulk and Brayden Schenn with 32 seconds left.

The Blues broke through at the 5:53 mark of the first period when Brandon Saad slid a pass to Kyrou, who wristed a shot from the slot past Ersson.

St. Louis doubled its lead early in the second period. After getting an outlet pass from Nathan Walker, Toropchenko flicked the puck to a streaking Pitlick, who wristed it past Ersson at the 5:04 mark.

The Blues put the game away a few minutes later when Faulk scored off assists from Sammy Blais and Nick Leddy at the 8:26 mark.

The Flyers conclude their four-game road trip against the Dallas Stars on Thursday and the New York Islanders on Saturday before hosting the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

The Blues finish their three-game homestand against the New York Rangers on Thursday before visiting the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

--Field Level Media

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.