DENVER — The Blues will head back to St. Louis with some work to do to avoid falling in a dreaded 3-0 hole in their best-of-seven first round series against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Avalanche beat the Blues 6-3 in Game 2 that didn't end until 12:15 a.m. St. Louis time on Thursday. Colorado leads the best-of-seven series two games to none.
The Avalanche had a quick 3-0 lead in Game 2 thanks to two goals from Joonas Donskoi and one from Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon.
The Blues answered back with goals from Sammy Blais in the second period and Brayden Schenn in the third to get it back to a one goal game. Then in the span of 15 seconds, MacKinnon scored again, and Blues forward Mike Hoffman answered.
Brandon Saad and Nathan MacKinnon put the game on ice for the Avalanche with empty-netters with time winding down to make it 6-3, which is how the game finished. MacKinnon's empty-netter gave him a hat trick.
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped 29 of 33 shots in the contest.
Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri was given a major penalty and removed from the game after a hit to the head on Blues defenseman Justin Faulk. Faulk was taken back to the locker room. Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo also left the game with an injury.
The series will now shift to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday at the Enterprise Center.
The Blues received a COVID-19 scare before Game 2 when there were discrepancies in testing that resulted in apparent positives for multiple players on the roster. The NHL investigated, cited a testing error, and allowed the affected players to play in the game.
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