Blues at Bruins

It’ll be Jordan Binnington against Joonas Korpisalo tonight on TD Garden ice, all 200×85 feet of it, as the St. Louis Blues visit the Boston Bruins tonight. Extraordinary goaltending, a component of some outstanding records posted by the Bruins in recent years, has been essential to wins over two segments of the 2025-26 season, including this one where Boston’s two best players are injured and others are either out of the lineup or just getting back into synch upon their returns from injury.

The Blues are also banged up, and both teams are in a one-up, one-down trend, settling out of their respective conference’s playoff eight. This could be a crossroads game for both teams, who need points badly.

With Michael Callahan’s injury, Victor Soderstrom is up from Providence. The fact Callahan and, before Callahan, Aspirot, were recalled with injuries to the right side of Boston defense ahead of Soderstrom casts doubt as to whether management thinks Soderstrom can handle the NHL game.

FIRST PERIOD

Right according to script, Korpisalo needs to make two excellent saves in the game’s opening three minutes.

Unrelated, Soderstrom is listed at 6 feet and 189 pounds but looks smaller out there in his first shift skating with Mason Lohrei.

Fraser Minten gets a lane to the net, but Binnington turns away his shot.

Alex Steeves gets the Bruins on the board 6:30 into the game, finishing a set-up from Morgan Geekie. Steeves had taken a wallop to make a play at the St. Louis line earlier in the shift but got right back at it, and Nikita Zadorov and Jonathan Aspirot were making some sharp head-man passes to set the attack in motion.

Geekie makes it 2-0 at 11:25 of the period, converting a centering pass from Elias Lindholm after Steeves disrupted the Blues on the forecheck. Steeves followed up on a Boston zone entry by taking on two St. Louis defenders and freeing the puck for Lindholm. The goal is Geekie’s 21st of the season.

In his 13th game of the season, Steeves now has 6 goals and is now tied with Viktor Arvidsson for third on the team behind Geekie (21) and David Pastrnak (11).

Tanner Jeannot goes out for hooking with 4:43 left in the first period; Blues to the powerplay.

Steeves read a pass and gets himself a bad-angle breakaway but can’t fake out Binnington.

Steeves crunched Mathieu Joseph into the sideboards near the Boston line, but linesman Michel Cormier was knocked down on the hit.

Bruins get the kill.

Brayden Scheen beats Geekie on a draw, and the Blues get a chance, but Korpisalo stops the rebound try from Dylan Holloway at the goalmouth.

Mikey Eyssimont finishes the period strong with a dump and chase past Colton Parayko, freeing the puck for Marat Khusnutdinov before Eyssimont makes a spinning, diving backhand that Binnington has to stop at the siren.

First-period shots: 14-9 Bruins.

SECOND PERIOD

The Blues are playing a better brand of hockey in the second period, and former N.Y. Ranger Pavel Buchnevich scores from the left circle at 1:59 to get St. Louis on the board.

Intercepting a rebound of Lohrei’s blast on the fly, Arvidsson strikes with a laser from the boards side of the right circle at 6:04 to make it a 3-1 game. The goal is Arvidsson’s seventh of the season.

Still a game after Binnington makes a point-blank stop created by a mishandle by Philip Broberg, one of the two Edmonton Oilers that the Blues signed to RFA offer sheets in 2024.

Pavel Zacha scores his sixth in transition at 12:26, taking a feed from Arvidsson, who is having a game tonight. Zacha started the play in the Bruins’ zone, prying the puck away from Aleksanteri Kaskimaki along the halfwall and getting it over to Arvidsson to begin the counterattack. 4-1 Boston with 5 minutes remaining in the second period.

The Blues get quality chances after 33-year-old Nick Bjugstad knocks down Soderstrom on the retrieval. The Bruins’ forwards have to lock down when coach Marco Sturm gives the Lohrei-Soderstrom pairing a shift, or else this will become a two-goal game. The Bruins have to remember that, as a team, they cannot outscore shoddy defensive play.

Jake Neighbours goes to the penalty box for interference with 15 seconds left in the period and the Blues pressing to get back into the game. Bad penalty to take, putting Boston on the powerplay.

Zacha may have his second of the night; the call on the ice is goal and will be upheld based on the replay. Time of the goal 19:59, and the Bruins lead 5-1 at the end of two periods.

Shots after two: 25-22 STL.

Don’t be surprised if Binnington does not return for the third period. Joel Hofer is the backup.

THIRD PERIOD

Binnington starts the third period for St. Louis … thought there might be a mercy pulling here.

Eyssimont carries down the middle, but Binnington snares his wrister.

Pius Suter follows up on a spectacular save by Korpisalo to net St. Louis’ second goal at 9:07. Anything less than all-out diligence and the Bruins are susceptible to trouble. 5-2

Buchnevich goes for crosschecking Andrew Peeke, so the Bruins get a powerplay up by three goals with under 10 minutes remaining. Lousy powerplay so far, which is understandable in this situation. The second unit gets so little that the moral victory becomes the expiration without Boston taking a penalty.

Bruins are ramping up their industrial game in the final seven minutes. Getting pucks out, getting them in, getting them deep, picking up checks, and all the little etc’s.

TV timeout with 4:11 to go. We’re going to drop it off right here with the Bruins up 5-2 and time ticking away.

This might be the last time Boston sees Brayden Schenn in a Blues uniform. The 33-year-old center/wing will likely be moved to a Cup contender at the deadline.

The high-flying New Jersey Devils are in here Saturday night.

Drive safely and stay warm.