National Hockey League
Vancouver 5, St. Louis 2
When: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees: Jon McIsaac, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Pierre Racicot, Andrew Smith
Attendance: N/A

Bo Horvat scored twice to lead the Vancouver Canucks past the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues 5-2 on Wednesday to open their first-round Western Conference playoff series in Edmonton.

The teams will play Game 2 on Friday.

J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist, and Elias Pettersson and Troy Stecher also scored for the fifth-seeded Canucks. Tanner Pearson and Brock Boeser had two assists, and goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 of 31 shots.

Jaden Schwartz and David Perron scored for the fourth-seeded Blues, and Jordan Binnington made 17 saves.

The Canucks struck first with a power-play goal 4:29 into the game. Quinn Hughes set up Horvat, who buried a one-time shot from atop the left circle for his third goal of the postseason.

Perron tied the game 1-1 with 3:23 left in the first period as the Blues converted their first power play. He scored his third postseason goal by connecting on a one-time shot from high in the right circle.

The Canucks struck again on the power play to take a 2-1 lead in the second period. Boeser lost the puck while driving the net, but Pettersson stepped in from the right circle to pound it into the net.

Just 72 seconds later, Schwartz countered by chipping the puck up ice to himself and beating Markstrom on a clean breakaway to tie the game 2-2.

Pettersson hit the crossbar on another Canucks power play in the second period, but Stecher's slap shot from the right point put the Canucks ahead 5 1/2 minutes into the third period.

Horvat made it 4-2 by dancing around Blues defenseman Vince Dunn and beating Binnington with a snap shot off the rush at 8:01 of the middle period. Miller capped the scoring with 40 seconds left on still another Canucks power play.

The Canucks were missing wingers Micheal Ferland and Tyler Toffoli, who remain unfit to play. The Blues played without checking line forwards Alexander Steen (undisclosed injury) and Ivan Barbashev (paternity leave) along with third-line winger Sammy Blais (lower-body injury)

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Vancouver   St. Louis
Bo Horvat 2 Points David Perron 1
Bo Horvat 2 Goals David Perron 1
Brock Boeser 2 Assists Alex Pietrangelo 1
Bo Horvat 1 Power Play Goals David Perron 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jacob Markstrom .935 Save Percentage Jordan Binnington .773
Jacob Markstrom 29 Saves Jordan Binnington 17
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vancouver 22 5 3-6 2-3 16 34
St. Louis 31 2 1-3 3-6 22 35
Upcoming Games
  • St. Louis will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Blues have a W/L % of .714 after a win and .414 after a loss.
  • Vancouver will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Canucks have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .471 after a loss.