TOREY KRUG

The St. Louis Blues have taken another step in keeping their top young players in the fold long term.

Nazem Kadri scored three goals, including two during a four-goal second period barrage, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 to take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference series.

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.

Jordan Kyrou and David Perron each scored twice, Jordan Binnington made 28 saves in his first start this postseason and the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2 to even the best-of-seven Western Conference series at 2-2.

The NHL playoffs are missing the close games and comebacks that seemingly comes annually with all the postseason intensity.

So much for the notion that goals are hard to come by in the playoffs.

The St. Louis Blues cruised through the coldest outdoor game in NHL history to beat the host Minnesota Wild 6-4.

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.

Zdeno Chara is no longer in Boston after the Bruins captain signed with Washington. And the Sabres made an even bigger splash in free agency by landing 2018 NHL MVP Taylor Hall in October. Hall, for example, signed a one-year, $8 million deal with Buffalo by realizing the free-agent market was going to be tight. Oilers general manager Ken Holland chalked it up to the new economic realities facing the NHL. “It’s salary-cap related, which is related to the pandemic, which has given us a hard, flat cap for the foreseeable future,” Holland said.

FILE - In this March 9, 2020, file photo, St. Louis Blues' Alex Pietrangelo (27) and Florida Panthers' Aleksi Saarela (28) chase after the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game in St. Louis. The Vegas Golden Knights have agreed to terms on a $61.6 million, seven-year contract with top free agent Pietrangelo, a person with direct knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)Alex Pietrangelo heard it can snow in Las Vegas and wasn't worried about bundling up his four children if necessary. After leaving the Blues he led to the 2019 title to sign a $61.6 million contract with the Golden Knights, Pietrangelo hopes to play a big role in getting the young franchise to the top of the NHL. Talking with Foley and seeing the other moves the Golden Knights have made to move into perennial Cup contention convinced Pietrangelo to put St. Louis in his past and sign with Vegas.

The Vegas Golden Knights have agreed to terms on a $61.6 million, seven-year contract with top free agent Pietrangelo, a person with direct knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)Alex Pietrangelo is Vegas bound, and the Golden Knights are shuffling the deck to fit him in. Pietrangelo signed a $61.6 million, seven-year deal with Vegas on Monday that carries an $8.8 million annual salary cap hit through 2027. Before registering Pietrangelo's contract, the Golden Knights traded defenseman Nate Schmidt to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2022 third-round pick, clearing his $5.95 million cap hit off the books. The 30-year-old leaves the St. Louis Blues after serving as captain of their 2019 Stanley Cup championship team.

FILE - In this June 15, 2015, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks' goalie Corey Crawford kisses the Stanley Cup Trophy after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series in Chicago. The past few weeks have seen several recent Stanley Cup winners get rid of members of their championship core. The Blackhawks moved on from Corey Crawford, the Washington Capitals did the same with Braden Holtby, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded fellow goalie Matt Murray and forward Patric Hornqvist and the St. Louis Blues signing Torey Krug means captain Alex Pietrangelo will sign elsewhere. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - In this June 15, 2015, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks' goalie Corey Crawford kisses the Stanley Cup Trophy after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series in Chicago. The past few weeks have seen several recent Stanley Cup winners get rid of members of their championship core. Hornqvist was “blindsided” the Pittsburgh Penguins wanted to trade him. The past several weeks have featured several recent Stanley Cup winners breaking up their championship core by saying goodbye to a key player with his name on the trophy. The agitating, go-to-the-net winger helped Pittsburgh win the Cup in 2016 and 2017.

The NHL is embarking on a free agent period like never before in hockey history. A handful of the top free agents are still available, but NHL teams aren't waiting for those big fish to sign to make other moves. Koivu signed for $1.5 million for next season, and they need to re-up top center Pierre-Luc Dubois and other restricted free agents. Teams have to move money, and in order to move money, they might have to move some really good players.”Some good free agents found new homes Saturday. The Buffalo Sabres signed center Cody Eakin to a $4.5 million, two-year contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal.

Jacob Markstrom left Vancouver to sign a six-year, $36 million contract with the Calgary Flames. The Wild quickly addressed their goaltending needs after trading Devan Dubnyk to San Jose, by signing Cam Talbot signing a three-year, $11 million deal. — Veteran forward Wayne Simmonds was among the first free agents to sign, reaching a one-year $1.5 million deal with the Maple Leafs. With starting goalie Corey Crawford leaving for New Jersey in free agency, the Blackhawks also signed goalie Malcolm Subban to a two-year, $1.7 million contract. — The Senators and newly acquired goalie Matt Murray agreed to two-year, $25 million deal.