Ducks fall short against Blues

ST. LOUIS —  Robert Bortuzzo got his first goal of the season and Brayden Schenn also scored, leading the St. Louis Blues to a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.

Jordan Binnington had 19 saves to earn his 70th career win, becoming the 10th goaltender in Blues history to reach the mark. The Blues have won seven of their last nine against the Ducks and are 5-1-1 this season against Anaheim.

Ryan O’Reilly added an empty-netter to seal the win.

Ryan Getzlaf scored for Anaheim and John Gibson had 29 saves.

The teams meet again Wednesday in St. Louis.

Bortuzzo gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead at 2:13 of the third period. From behind the net, Jordan Kyrou saw Bortuzzo in the slot and his wrist shot found the back of the net. It was Bortuzzo’s 17th goal in his 10-year NHL career. His last goal came March 8, 2020, at Chicago.

The Blues have won six of their last eight games at home. The win puts St. Louis five points ahead of Arizona for the final playoff spot in the West Division. The Blues have three games in hand on Arizona, which hosted Los Angeles Monday.

After a scoreless first period, each team scored within 25 seconds of each in the second period.

St. Louis took a 1-0 lead at 5:52 when Schenn snapped a wrist shot by Gibson for a power-play goal. Schenn has seven points in seven games against the Ducks this season.

The Ducks tied it with an unassisted goal by Getzlaf at 6:17. Colton Parayko was unable to handle a pass from Sammy Blais. Getzlaf picked off the pass and buried the puck on a breakaway.