Jordan Binnington stopped all 31 shots he faced to earn his 16th career shutout and set a St. Louis Blues franchise record with his 152nd victory, as the Blues defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-0 on Wednesday night.
Binnington reached the milestone in his 298th career NHL game, surpassing Mike Liut as the Blues’ all-time wins leader.
Dylan Holloway scored twice, and Robert Thomas found the net just nine seconds into the game, narrowly missing the NHL record for the fastest goal to start a contest by one second. Assists were credited to Justin Faulk, Pavel Buchnevich, Brandon Saad, and Jake Neighbours.
St. Louis capitalized on a dominant first period, netting all three goals during the opening 20 minutes. Heading into the game, the Blues had outscored opponents 23-12 in the first period this season.
Jacob Markstrom, playing in his 500th career game, made 17 saves for New Jersey, which outshot St. Louis 32-18 but couldn’t capitalize on three power-play opportunities.
The Devils were without forward Timo Meier, who served a one-game suspension for cross-checking Nashville’s Zachary L’Heureux in the face during Monday’s 5-2 win.
Takeaways
Blues: St. Louis appears rejuvenated under new head coach Jim Montgomery, who took over on Monday. The Blues have now won back-to-back road games after losing nine of their previous 11.
Devils: New Jersey’s offense has been streaky, going 10-4 in their last 14 games, but all four losses were shutouts.
Key Moment
Robert Thomas set the tone by scoring nine seconds into the game, the fastest goal to start a game this season and just one second shy of the NHL record.
Key Stat
St. Louis blocked 24 shots, with defenseman Ryan Suter leading the effort with six blocks, helping secure their second shutout of the season.
Up Next
The Blues return home to host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday before embarking on a four-game road trip. The Devils travel to Detroit on Friday for their third game in five days.
