Recap: Canes Stymied By Binnington, Blues

RALEIGH, N.C. - Despite nearly doubling up their opponent in shots on goal, the Carolina Hurricanes were unable to make the most of their chances as they fell 3-1 to the St. Louis Blues at Lenovo Center on Thursday.

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Scoring first for the third consecutive contest, Carolina capitalized on a dominant first period with a spectacular solo effort from Mark Jankowski at 8:38. After intercepting a pass in the neutral zone, Jankowski danced past a defender before tucking a shot into the top corner for the game's first goal.

Although they were limited to two shots in the opening 20 minutes, St. Louis opened the middle frame with five unanswered bids on net, one of which whistled past Brandon Bussi to knot the score at one. Soon after, a pair of power-play opportunities gave the Hurricanes opportunities to regain the lead, but neither delivered a go-ahead goal for the hosts as Jordan Binnington stood tall.

The ensuing tug-of-war carried into the third period, where St. Louis' Jimmy Snuggerud potted his second of the night with fewer than five minutes to play, putting his team ahead for good. Several key stops from Binnington held Carolina at bay in its late push to equalize, allowing the skaters in front of him to pot an empty-netter to seal two points for St. Louis.

Bussi finished with 14 saves on 16 shots, dropping consecutive starts for the first time in his NHL career.

Stats & Standouts

• Forward Mark Jankowski scored for the second straight game. His 16th point of the year in his 52nd outing puts him within one of tying last season's 60-game total.
• Carolina's first regulation-time defeat at Lenovo Center since Jan. 3, the loss ends Carolina's home point streak at 12 games, tied for the third-longest such run in franchise history.

They Said It...

Mark Jankowski providing a summary of the contest...

"We came out of the gates hot. We had a good start, but our last few games, our second period, we kind of had a lull. We can't have that. We've got to play a full 60 minutes. Every game in the NHL is a battle. Every night we've got to bring it for 60 minutes or else that's going to happen."

Rod Brind'Amour giving his thoughts on the defeat, after dominating the first period...

"Well, we didn't score. (The first period) was maybe our best period of the year, maybe, and we're up by one. Then you're just letting them hang around.  You know they're going to come back a little bit. It wasn't much after that. We just didn't generate a ton. We had a couple [of looks] and obviously (Jordan Binnington) made a couple of really big saves. That's the difference."

Jordan Staal sharing his perspective...

"We lost some momentum, and we let them back in it. We had chances to get up and get going, and we didn't... We had a couple of lapses defensively... There wasn't really a moment in the game (when the momentum flipped). It just looked like we were okay with just kind of staying where we were and we kind of let them get back into it."

Rod Brind'Amour when asked if he felt his team took their foot off the gas after the first...

"Probably, a little. You had a great first, and then you kind of think it's going to be the same. You've got to remember how you got to that. We were really on our game, and then we kind of were trying to do a few little different things, not the same game plan. They had their little- I don't even call it a push, they just capitalized. When you're letting someone hang around, you saw what happened at the end."

Rod Brind'Amour touching on the positive of the night, the Jankowski line...

"They were our best line. That's generally not a good thing because they don't play that much. We've got to get more out of our top guys. They didn't do much tonight, so I should have used (the Jankowski line) a lot more than I did."

What's Next?

• The Canes are scheduled to practice on Friday before flying to Tampa.  They'll face the Lightning on Saturday night.
• Next Game: Saturday, March 14 at Tampa Bay | 7:00 p.m. ET | FDSNSO
• Next Home Game: Wednesday, March 18 vs. Pittsburgh | 7:00 p.m. ET | FDSNSO | Tickets | Parking