BRAYDEN SCHENN

Jordan Binnington made 25 saves and the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1 in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Vladimir Tarasenko had three goals in the third period to break open a tied game and series, and the St. Louis Blues pushed the Minnesota Wild to the edge of elimination with a 5-2 victory in Game 5.

David Perron had a hat trick and an assist to lead the St. Louis Blues past the Minnesota Wild 4-0 in Game 1 of their first-round series.

Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues scored 12 seconds apart in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied past the St. Louis Blues 5-3.

Captains are leading the way into the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Kadri was suspended indefinitely Thursday pending a video hearing with the league's department of player safety for his illegal check to the head of St. Louis defenseman Justin Faulk in Game 2 of the teams’ playoff series. Kadri clipped Faulk in the head with his right elbow midway through the third period. Faulk left the game, and Kadri was thrown out with a match penalty. That combination helped Colorado reach the second round of the 2020 bubble playoffs with Kadri as a dominant offensive force. Chara played his first playoff game in Boston as a visitor on Wednesday night after 73 with the Bruins.

Colorado’s Nazem Kadri is suspended indefinitely pending a video hearing with NHL officials over his illegal check to the head of St. Louis defenseman Justin Faulk.

Nathan MacKinnon finished his first career playoff hat trick with an empty-net goal to help the Colorado Avalanche pull away late for a 6-3 win over St. Louis in Game 2 after the Blues avoided a pregame virus scare that nearly sidelined several players.

Blues Avalanche Hockey St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn, right, jumps in the air to avoid a shot as Colorado Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer covers the net in the third period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Monday, May 17, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (David Zalubowski)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The St. Louis Blues have reached out to the National Hockey League in regard to virus testing ahead of Game 2 of their best-of-seven series with the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche. The Blues have three players on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list, leading scorer David Perron, Nathan Walker and Jake Walman. St. Louis recently confirmed that Walman, who’s fully vaccinated, had tested positive for the virus after undergoing additional tests. In a statement issued Wednesday, Blues president of hockey operations & general manager Doug Armstrong said: “We have discovered discrepancies in COVID test results relating to multiple players.

Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen combined for eight points and 16 shots of the Avalanche's 50 shots against St. Louis.

CORRECTS TO SHOOTOUT, INSTEAD OF OVERTIME - St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (10) scores on Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner (90) in the shootout of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)LAS VEGAS – Missing all their coaches, Max Pacioretty and the Vegas Golden Knights still managed to earn a point. David Perron and Brayden Schenn scored in a shootout Tuesday to give the St. Louis Blues a 5-4 victory over Vegas. Pacioretty got his seventh career hat trick for the Golden Knights, who were without their entire coaching staff because of COVID-19 concerns. The Golden Knights were 1 for 6 with a man advantage and are 3 of 26 (11.5%) this season.