Jordan Binnington made 23 saves for the shutout as the St. Louis Blues remained perfect on the season with a 2-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Torey Krug and Justin Faulk scored for the Blues (3-0-0), who have had plenty of practice time with a light schedule to start the season.
The Oilers dropped to 2-3-0 on their season-starting six-game homestand.
Oilers goalie Jack Campbell had 21 saves in the loss.
St. Louis started the scoring on the power play five minutes into the opening period as Krug beat Campbell with a long blast from the point.
Campbell got back in the fans’ good books not long after when he made a big glove save on a breakaway opportunity by Jordan Kyrou.
A Brett Kulak giveaway led to yet another golden opportunity for Kyrou 12 minutes into a fast-paced second period, but his point-blank shot was once again gathered up by Campbell.
Blues goalie Binnington was called on to make a huge stop of his own with three minutes left in the middle frame, making a sprawling glove save on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins during a scramble in front to keep it a one-goal game.
The shots were just 15-14 in favour of Edmonton through 40 minutes.
Edmonton pressed in the third but couldn’t solve Binnington.
The Blues were able to put the game away with a minute left as Faulk lifted a shot from the corner off the faceoff that went 200 feet to the centre of the empty net.
Each team only had one power play in the contest, with the Blues’ ability to convert on theirs being the difference.
NOTES
Both teams finished with 49 wins last season and were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs… Since the start of last season, the Blues and Oilers have the top two power plays in the NHL… The Blues had nine 20-goal scorers on their roster last year, eight of whom are back with the team this year… The Blues were without Logan Brown (upper body), Marco Scandella (hip) and Scott Perunovich (shoulder), while the Oilers were missing the services of Dylan Holloway (upper body)… Due to cap issues, Edmonton once again had to ice a lineup featuring 11 forwards and seven defencemen… Former Oilers player and bench-boss Craig MacTavish coached his first game in Rogers Place, now serving as an assistant coach for the Blues. MacTavish was head coach of the Oilers from 2000 to 2009.
UP NEXT
Both teams return to action on Monday. The Oilers finish off a season-starting six-game homestand against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Blues travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets to close out a three-game trip.
