Thursday 28th March 2024

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The Vancouver Canucks eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues from the playoffs with a 6-2 victory in Game 6 of their series on Friday.

Vancouver came ready to play in Game 6, with Jay Beagle taking advantage of a turnover early in the first period to put the Canucks ahead.

Antoine Roussel then managed to beat Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington just two minutes into the second frame to extend the lead. Things quickly took a turn for the worst for St. Louis when Vancouver netted goals from Troy Stecher and Brock Boeser. The Blues then opted to pull Binnington in favor of Jake Allen, who started the last three games of the series.

Blues forward Ryan O’Reilly defended Binnington after the netminder allowed four goals, putting the blame on the team in front of him.

“It’s disappointing the way we played in front of him,” O’Reilly said. “One of the reasons that we’re here is because of him, and we did a terrible job in front of him. It’s embarrassing.”

Vancouver entered the third period with a 4-0 cushion. Blues forward Jaden Schwartz netted two goals in the final minutes of the game, but they weren’t nearly enough.

Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 34 of the 36 shots he faced, while Binnington allowed four goals on 18 shots, and Allen gave up one goal on six shots.

Vancouver will now take on the top-seeded Vegas Golden Knights in Round 2.