ST PAUL, Minn. — It's hard to imagine a better start to the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the St. Louis Blues than what happened on Monday night in Minnesota.
The Blues opened their first-round series against the Wild with a 4-0 win in Game 1.
It was the David Perron show on offense.
Perron opened the scoring about six minutes into the game with assists from Ryan O'Reilly and Torey Krug. He added a power-play goal with time winding down in the second, assisted by Brayden Schenn and Krug. Perron finished off the hat trick in the third period and was assisted by Krug and Brandon Saad.
Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly also scored in the game. Perron had one of the assists on O'Reilly's goal, giving Perron four points in the game.
There were 12 penalties in Game 1. The Blues were 2 of 6 on the power play, with the Wild going 0 for 6.
On the back end, Blues goaltender Ville Husso was superb in his playoff debut.
Husso stopped 37 of 37 shots to capture a shutout and give the Blues a 1-0 series lead. According to the Bally Sports Midwest telecast, Husso is the first Blues goalie to notch a shutout in his playoff debut and only the 15th goaltender in NHL history to register a shutout in his playoff debut.
The series will continue with Game 2 in Minnesota on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Central Time. The first round will shift to St. Louis for Game 3 on Friday night at 8:30 at Enterprise Center.