ST PAUL, Minn. — The Blues are heading home with the chance to end their first round series against the Minnesota Wild after a 5-2 win over the Wild on Game 5 on Tuesday in St. Paul. The Blues are now up 3-2 in the series, needing to win just one of a possible two remaining games to advance to the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It was a nail-biter for most of Game 5, as the teams traded blows until the third period.
Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly opened the scoring with a goal five minutes into Game 5. It was O'Reilly's fourth goal in the series.
The Wild answered back with two first period goals from their star, Kirill Kaprizov to take the lead 2-1.
The Blues tied the game in the second period on a goal from Brandon Saad assisted by Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas.
And in the third, it was the Vladimir Tarasenko show.
Tarasenko scored two goals in the span of 68 seconds to put the Blues up 4-2. That's the shortest time between two goals by the same player in Blues playoff history.
Then, for good measure, Tarasenko added a third goal on an empty-netter to complete the third period hat trick.
Goaltender Jordan Binnington was impressive again in net, stopping 30 of 32 Minnesota shots to get his second win in a row after taking over for Ville Husso to start Game 4. Per the Bally Sports Midwest broadcast, Binnington now has the most postseason wins by a goaltender in Blues franchise history.
The Blues will now have an opportunity to win the first-round series on Thursday night in St. Louis. Puck drop at Enterprise Center for Game 6 is set for 8:30. If the series goes to a Game 7, that will take place on Saturday in St. Paul.
