Binnington gets fourth win in five starts, helps Blues top Senators

ST. LOUIS -- Jordan Binnington won for the fourth time in five NHL starts, helping the St. Louis Blues defeat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 at Enterprise Center on Saturday.

Binnington (4-0-1) made 28 saves. His lone loss was 2-1 in overtime at the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
"Gives us a chance to win and he did that," Blues coach Craig Berube said of Binnington. "He was solid."
WATCH: [All Senators vs. Blues highlights]
St. Louis forward David Perron missed the game with an upper-body injury, ending a 13-game point streak (16 points; six goals, 10 assists), which was the longest active streak in the NHL. Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has the longest active streak at 11 games; he had a goal and an assist against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Carl Gunnarsson, Vladimir Tarasenko and Vince Dunn scored, and Ryan O'Reilly had two assists for St. Louis (21-21-5), which has won five of its past eight games (5-2-1).
"It felt great," Gunnarson said. "It wasn't a perfect game. We fought it out," Gunnarsson said. "Binnington was great back there and we found a way. Two points. That's all that matters right now."

Nick Paul and Magnus Paajarvi scored, and Craig Anderson made 35 saves in his first start since Dec. 21 for the Senators (19-25-5), who lost for just the second time in six games (4-2-0). Anderson missed 11 games with a concussion and was the backup to Anders Nilsson in a 4-1 win at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
"I thought overall it was pretty good," Anderson said of his performance. "Didn't get the result. We definitely want to get wins here and that's a big part. ... Overall, I felt like I was in shape and seeing the puck pretty good and battling. That was a big thing, just trying to get that timing back and it was there."
Gunnarsson gave the Blues a 3-2 lead at 12:16 of the third period off a pass from O'Reilly after Pat Maroon knocked the puck from under Anderson's glove. Ottawa challenged for goalie interference but the call on the ice stood.
"I got a little worried there when they were reviewing it," Gunnarsson said. "But good job. The forwards were reaching for pucks down there like crazy and that kind of made their team kind of sink in there and open it up."
Paajarvi tied it 2-2 for Ottawa with a shorthanded goal at 1:00 of the third when Zack Smith's centering pass deflected off his skate.
Dunn put the Blues ahead 2-1 with 2:32 remaining in the second period with a slap shot from above the left circle after an extended shift in the Senators zone.

Tarasenko tied it 1-1 for St. Louis at 7:50 of the first period with a wrist shot from the high slot after Paul made it 1-0 at 4:34 with his first goal of the season.

They said it

"The first period, we were trying to find our legs and we got better as the game went along. An unfortunate sequence happened. It's tough, but our team battled. It shows our character and our group that we're never out of it." -- Senators forward Brady Tkachuk
"He's hot. He's playing well for us. Obviously, a big goal for us tonight, sneaking in from that left side. It's nice to see him get rewarded." -- Blues center Brayden Schenn on defenseman Carl Gunnarsson

Need to know

Berube said Perron probably will not accompany the Blues on the two-game trip to California before the All-Star break. … Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki missed the game and is day to day with a lower-body injury sustained Friday. … Ottawa center Matt Duchene had his point streak end at six games (nine points; five goals, four assists). ... O'Reilly has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in his past 13 games. … Blues forward Alexander Steen returned after missing six games with a left shoulder injury and had two shots in 16:27.

What's next

Senators: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV)
Blues: At the Los Angeles Kings on Monday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)