The Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues and Jordan Binnington agreed to terms on a two-year, $8.8 million contract over the weekend. The 26-year-old goalie, a restricted free agent, avoided a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for July 20.  Binnington set the rookie record for Stanley Cup Playoff wins, going 16-10 with a 2.46 GAA, .914 save percentage and one shutout in 26 games to help the Blues win the Stanley Cup for the first time in their 51-season history.

“I’m happy to get this deal done with the St. Louis Blues,” Binnington told the Blues website. “To the city of St. Louis, thank you for welcoming me in and trusting me to do me. I’m excited and motivated to keep doing my job and keep bringing success to the St. Louis Blues organization.”

Everything is done with a little extra pizazz in Vegas…even the Stanley Cup Finals.  Game one provided end-to-end action in a crazed building that saw ten goals and a Final’s record of four lead changes as the expansion Golden Knights grabbed the opener with a 6-4 win over the Washington Capitals.  Adding to the local interest here in Missouri is the way former St. Louis Blues players are contributing to both teams.

Ryan Reaves, a fourth line guy, who was a fan favorite for not being afraid to mix it up with the opposing team parked himself out in front of the Capitals nets and buried his second goal of this playoff run to tie the game at 4-4.

Reaves was traded to Pittsburgh by St. Louis with St. Louis’ 2nd round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft for Oskar Sundqvist and Pittsburgh’s 1st round pick.  In February, Reaves was shipped to Vegas with Pittsburgh’s 4th round pick in 2018 NHL Draft for Tobias Lindberg. So far, in seven games that Reaves has dressed for the Golden Knights, he has scored twice. In 36 career playoff games with the Blues, he scored just once.

Former Blues first-round pick T.J. Oshie never quite clicked when it came to the playoffs in St. Louis. In 30 career playoff games in St. Louis, Oshie registered five goals and four assists. In Washington, he has blossomed into the goal scorer and playmaker Blues fans had longed for. In 43 postseason games with the Capitals, Oshie has netted 17 goals and 22 assists, including two in last night’s loss. Check out this no-look pass to a wide-open John Carlson moments after Oshie was denied a goal.

Finally, David Perron a first-round pick of St. Louis in 2007, managed two goals and eight assists in 29 career playoff games for the Blues. In just 12 playoff games with Vegas, Perron has equaled the number of assists he had in St. Louis.

Game Two of the Stanley Cup Finals are Wednesday night.

The Avalanche locked up a playoff berth with a 5-2 win over the Blues in Denver.  The victory secured the final Western Conference wild card for Colorado, while eliminating St. Louis.  Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and two assists for the Avs.  Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie, Samuel Girard, and Mat Nieto also scored and Jonathan Bernier made 32 saves in the victory.  Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn scored for the Blues. St. Louis finishes with 94 points, one behind Colorado in the West.

Jake Allen on the loss.  “It stings”

The luck did not go the way of St. Louis.  St. Louis was dealt a blow midway through the first period when leading goal-scorer Vladimir Tarasenko left with an upper-body injury. He didn’t return.  Then the Blues challenged Barrie’s goal after they felt the play was offside.  After a seven-minute replay review, the goal stood giving Colorado a 2-0 lead.

Defenseman Joel Edmunson was in shock

Coach Mike Yeo felt the league missed the call.  “I’m not going to blame the season on a bad call,” Yeo said.

The St. Louis Blues dropped their fourth straight game as Duncan Keith scored a power-play goal with 8.5 seconds left in the third period to complete the Chicago Blackhawks come from behind win over the Blues, 4-3 on Wednesday at Scottrade Center.  It was just the second goal of the season for Keith.  The Blues had a 3-1 lead.

The Blues outshot Chicago 34-26 and led by two goals after Vladimir Tarasenko scored on a breakaway 5:44 into the second after another Chicago defensive breakdown.

The Blues had their issues as well, starting with goaltender Jake Allen, who gave up three soft goals before the game-winner.  After Robert Bortuzzo gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 4:16 in the first period, the Hawks tied it at 8:57, when Andreas Martinsen slipped a shot through the five-hole on Jake Allen after the Blues failed to clear the zone. It was Martinsen’s first goal with Chicago.

Up 3-1, Allen gave up two long goals.  Rookie defenseman Blake Hillman scored his first NHL goal, while shorthanded, from the top of the right circle at 10:12 of the second. Alex DeBrincat tied it with a long wrister at 8:30 of the third for his team-leading 28th goal of the season.

“We played terrible in the third from myself out,” Allen said. “It’s unacceptable especially at home against a team that really has nothing to play for except beat us.”

The Blues gave up three consecutive goals early in the second period and lost 4-2 to the Capitals at Scottrade Center.  Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Berglund scored for St. Louis, which has lost three straight.  The Blues are one point out of a wild-card spot with three to play.  They host Chicago tomorrow.

>>Blues’ Upshall Out For Season With Lacerated Kidney

The Blues will play the rest of the way without forward Scottie Upshall.  The 34-year-old is out for the season with a lacerated kidney.  Upshall was hurt when he collided with Coyotes defenseman Luke Schenn during Saturday’s 6-0 loss to Arizona.  Schenn is the brother of Blues center Brayden Schenn.

Logan Couture, Joonas Donskoi, and Mikkel Boedker each scored as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Blues 3-2 at the Scottrade Center.  All fives goals for both teams came in a wild second period.

Couture put San Jose up 1-0 before Ivan Barshev tied the game.  Donskoi and Boedker made it 3-1 when St. Louis answered on a power-play tally by Vladimir Tarasenko to pull them within one.  Martin Jones stopped 31 shots for the Sharks, who have won three straight.

St. Louis is one point ahead of the Ducks and Wild for the top Wild Card spot in the West.  The Blues are 0-3-1 in their last four games.  The Blues host Winnipeg on Friday, the team they beat exactly two weeks prior to their last win.

Head coach Mike Yeo says it is time to step up their game.  Check out my feature that you can find on the Bill Pollock Show podcast, “Yeo, what’s up?”

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was in St. Louis on Thursday before the Blues game with the Colorado Avalanche.  Speaking with Blues play-by-play announcer Chris Kerber for a KMOX-AM podcast, Bettman said it was just a matter of time before the city hosted an NHL All-Star Game.

The city already proved to the NHL that they could host a premier event, when the Blues hosted the Chicago Blackhawks for the NHL’s Winter Classic Series at Busch Stadium on January 2, 2017.  Team owner Tom Stillman, with the help from the city of St. Louis, pushed through phase one renovations of Scottrade Center, which included a new ice surface and updated scoreboards.  More upgrades will continue for the arena…all key pieces for Bettman to assure fans that at some point in the near future, St. Louis will host another premier event for the league.

To hear the full conversation between Bettman and Kerber, click here.

Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester returned to the St. Louis Blues after the arrival of his second child.  The coaching staff was unsure if they wanted to dress Bouwmeester for their game against the Maple Leafs.  As Bouwmeester arrived just an hour before puck drop, the coaching staff elected to dress Toronto native Vince Dunn.

With Dunn’s parents and other family and friends in attendance, he scored the game winner 1:43 in overtime to give the Blues a 2-1 win over Leafs.  Dunn talks about staying ready.

Both teams were coming off a six-day layoff, but the Blues held the upperhand early, outshooting Toronto 18-8.  Despite controlling play for large portions of the game, Toronto struck first midway through the third period.   Alex Pietrangelo was unable to keep a bouncing puck in the offensive zone on a powerplay and Connor Brown scored on a shorthanded breakaway beating Carter Hutton for a 1-0 lead.

Alex Steen tied it in the final minute of the third period for the Blues putting in a rebound past Frederick Anderson on a shot from Pietrangelo.  The goal came with 57 seconds remaining in overtime.