St. Louis Blues goalie Ville Husso (35) makes a save against Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon in the second period of th Vs 5-2 win in game two of the second round Stanley Cup playoff series on Saturday, May 21, 2022. (Photo: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
The Colorado Avalanche regained home ice advantage with a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues in game three on Saturday night in St. Louis.
But the win came with a price.
Defenseman Samuel Girard suffered a broken sternum when Ivan Barbashev checked him into the boards late in the first period. Avalanche head coach Jared Bendar said Girard went to the hospital and will miss the rest of the playoffs.
The Avalanche ended up facing Blues backup goalie Ville Husso after starter Jordan Binnington was injured in the first period. Colorado forward Nazem Kadri and St. Louis defenseman Calle Rosen were going after a loose puck, got tangled up and crashed into Binnington.
After the game, Blues head coach Craig Berube said Binnington was being evaluated for a lower body injury.
While Kadri was talking with TNT after the game, Binnington reportedly threw a water bottle at him.
After the Blues took a 1-0 lead not even four minutes into the game, Logan O'Connor tied it midway through the first period with a goal for the Avalanche.
Kadri and Arturri Lehkonen each scored in the second period and the Avs were up 3-2 after two periods.
In the third, Gabriel Landeskog caught the Blues trying to get Husso off the ice and the Colorado captain put home what was in effect an empty net goal with 2:08 remaining. Lehkonen's second goal of the game was an empty-netter at 19:02 and capped the scoring.
The Avs regained home ice advantage with the win on the road.
Game four will be in St. Louis on Monday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m. MDT.
Postgame comments from Avs forward Nazem Kadri.
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Postgame comments from Avs forwards Logan O'Connor (first to speak) and Arturri Lehkonen.
Postgame comments from Avs head coach Jared Bednar.