Blues withstand late Avalanche rally, win opener

DENVER -- David Perron scored two goals for the St. Louis Blues, who withstood a late rally by the Colorado Avalanche for a 5-3 win at Ball Arena on Saturday.

"I've never taken so much heat (from teammates) for taking the time I needed to play today," said Perron, who had missed some practice time with an undisclosed ailment and was considered a game-time decision by coach Craig Berube. "I had to score one at least. "
Justin Faulk had a goal and an assist, Jordan Kyrou had two assists, and Jordan Binnington made 29 saves for the Blues, who were playing their season opener.
"We had a real good first period. Thought we came out, we were on our toes and got a lead," Berube said. "We just kind of lost our energy a little bit in the second period and we fed their transition game, kind of got on our heels a little bit. The third period was mixed for me."

J.T. Compher had a goal and an assist, Tyson Jost and Andre Burakovsky scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for the Avalanche (1-1-0).
"We're proud of the way we fought tonight, especially being down 4-1 late," Compher said. "No one on the bench gave up, we stayed with it. Obviously, we wanted to win the game, but we're proud of it, sticking with it the whole game."
Faulk gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the first period, taking a pass from Kyrou and beating Kuemper blocker side from above the face-off circles.
Brayden Schenn made it 2-0 at 8:35 of the second period. He skated down the right wing, maneuvered by Avalanche defenseman Kurtis MacDermid and shot glove side.
Perron extended the lead to 3-0 at 11:37 on a shot from the top of the right circle.
"It'll probably take a little bit to feel back to where I want it to be, but it was good I was able to get out there and contribute a little bit," Perron said.

Burakovsky cut it to 3-1 at 14:09 of the second on a one-timer from the right circle off a cross-ice pass from Nazem Kadri, but Perron scored his second on the power play to make it 4-1 at 6:51 of the third.
Jost closed it to 4-2 at 14:36, tipping in Compher's shot with Kuemper on the bench during a 4-on-4. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar then pulled Kuemper again, and Compher cut it to 4-3 at 16:18 when he converted the rebound of Kadri's shot.
"We did a good job of just getting pucks toward the net," Compher said. "None [of the goals] were pretty whatsoever, but they don't have to be. They just have to get to the net to get in."

Colorado appeared to score its third goal with Kuemper on the bench for the extra attacker at 17:11, but after a video review, it was determined that Jost kicked the puck into the net with his right skate.
"It looks like a pretty conclusive kicking motion," Colorado defenseman Cale Makar said. "It's a little bit of a tough one, the guy is falling into him. Tough one, but we definitely had a good effort at the end, that's for sure."
Said Schenn, "The one angle we had behind the bench it looked like his skate had a kicking motion to it. The NHL made a call and we're happy."
Ryan O'Reilly scored an empty-net goal with 20 seconds left for the 5-3 final.
Colorado finished the game with 10 forwards after Stefan Matteau sustained a lower-body injury in the first period. Nathan MacKinnon (NHL COVID-19 protocol) missed his second straight game and Gabriel Landeskog served the first of a two-game suspension for boarding Chicago Blackhawks center Kirby Dach in their opener on Wednesday.
"You kind of have to be ready for anything nowadays in times of COVID," Makar said. "It's a good test for us. I think the main thing for our team tonight was just bringing the effort, and I thought we did."
NOTES:Faulk's goal was his 300th point in the NHL. … Blues forward Jake Neighbours had one shot and three hits in 9:00 of ice time in his NHL debut. … Bednar said Matteau would be reevaluated Sunday but that "it looks like he's going to miss some time." … Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson did not play because of COVID-19 protocol.