Blues beat Utah 6-1 to lock up 2nd wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoffs
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11:03 PM on Tuesday, April 15
By JOE HARRIS
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Blues secured the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoffs Tuesday night with a 6-1 victory over Utah.
Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and two assists, Jordan Kyrou scored twice and Jimmy Snuggerud, Brayden Schenn and Zack Bolduc each added a goal and an assist for the Blues. Robert Thomas contributed a pair of assists and Jordan Binnington made 22 saves for St. Louis, which will face the conference-leading Winnipeg Jets in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Blues were eight points out of a playoff spot at the break for the 4 Nations Tournament and used a 19-4-3 run to qualify for the postseason for the first time 2022.
Clayton Keller scored his 30th goal of the season and Karel Vejmelka made 23 saves for Utah.
The Blues scored four goals in the first period and never looked back. Schenn opened the scoring at 8:08 and was followed by goals from Buchnevich, Snuggerud and Bolduc.
Thomas left the game early in the third period with a lower-body injury and did not return.
Utah: Keller, who played in his 600th career game Monday, was born in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield. He has 13 goals and 22 assists in 32 career games against the Blues.
Blues: Snuggerud, a first-round pick in the 2022 entry draft, scored his first career goal and had his first multipoint game. His power play goal stood after an extensive review to determine whether he intentionally kicked the puck into the net.
Jake Neighbours gave the Blues an early spark in the first with a big hit on Utah’s Kailer Yamamoto. Less than a minute later, a Buchnevich touch pass sprung Snuggerud on a breakaway that led to Schenn’s goal.
The Blues won a franchise-record 12th straight home game, and Binnington earned a franchise-record 11th straight home win.
Utah's season is over with a record of 38-31-13. The Blues face Winnipeg in the playoffs with the date and time to be determined.
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