Two Toronto-arena natives, Alex Pietrangelo and Jordan Binnington, played key roles when the St. Louis Blues won their seventh consecutive game against the Maple Leafs, 3-2 at Scotiabank Arena.
Pietrangelo, a native of King City, Ontario, less than 30 miles from Toronto, scored the game-winning goal at 7:51 of the third period. It was his 400th NHL point (95 goals, 305 assists) in 691 games. Pietrangelo became the second defenseman to have 400 points with the Blues, joining Al MacInnis (452 points; 127 goals, 325 assists). It was his 23rd game-winning goal, moving him past MacInnis (22) for the
most by a defenseman in Blues history
.
Binnington, whose name was honored this offseason on a population sign in Richmond Hill, Ontario, 23 miles north of Scotiabank Arena, on July 12 after he helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup for the first time since entering the NHL in 1967, made 32 saves to become the 52nd Ontario-born goalie to win his first game at Toronto. He's the fourth to do so in the past decade, joining Carter Hutton of the Nashville Predators on Feb. 23, 2016, Cam Talbot of the Rangers on Jan. 4, 2014, and Justin Peters of the Hurricanes on March 2, 2010.
The Blues have won seven straight games against the Maple Leafs since Feb. 2, 2017, outscoring them 25-12 during that span. It's their longest such run against Toronto, surpassing the previous mark of six from Feb. 1, 1988 to Oct. 29, 1988.
