Blues blown out again, this time in a 6-1 loss vs. Capitals

Matthew DeFranks, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Nov 5, 2025

Published in Hockey

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The warm and fuzzies were short-lived.

Two days after snapping a seven-game losing streak with a win over the Edmonton Oilers, the St. Louis Blues once again found themselves searching for answers following a 6-1 loss to the Wednesday Capitals Wednesday night. The loss dropped the Blues to an overall record of 4-8-2, the second-worst record in the league with a league-worst minus-21 goal differential.

Jordan Binnington allowed four goals before he was pulled in the second period. Joel Hofer played the remainder of the game. Alexey Toropchenko (shorthanded) scored the only goal for St. Louis.

Anthony Beauvillier (twice), Tom Wilson (twice), Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson all scored for the Capitals. Logan Thompson made 21 saves for Washington.

It was the seventh time in the first 14 games that the Blues allowed at least five goals. It’s been 20 years since the Blues did that, and St. Louis finished last in the league that season.

The Blues finish a quick two-game road trip with a game Thursday night in Buffalo.

Mr. 900

When Ovechkin scored in the second period, he became the first player in NHL history to score 900 goals. Last season, he tied and passed Wayne Gretzky (894 goals) on the all-time goal-scoring leaderboard.

Ovechkin scored at 2:39 of the second period to give Washington a 2-0 lead, spinning a backhand from the side of the net over a sliding Nathan Walker’s left skate and over Binnington’s left pad. Ovechkin originally started the play by picking off an attempted pass from Binnington behind the net.

After Ovechkin scored, the entire Capitals bench emptied onto the ice to celebrate his milestone.

The intrigue built after the play, though, as it appeared Binnington tried to steal the puck Ovechkin scored with. Binnington collected the puck, skated away from the crease and stuffed it into his pants. An official later approached Binnington about the puck, and the veteran goaltender returned it to him.

Wednesday was a forgettable milestone night for Binnington, who tied Mike Liut for most games played by a goaltender in Blues history at 347. Binnington is already the franchise leader in wins (176).

Schenn’s spark fizzles

With the Blues trailing 3-0 in the second period, captain Brayden Schenn tried to bring his team back into the game by fighting Brandon Duhaime. The fight emanated from Colton Parayko’s big hit on Nic Dowd in front of the benches. Duhaime approached Parayko to fight after the hit, and Schenn stepped in instead.

In what could have been a wake-up call for the Blues, it benefited Washington.

Carlson scored 22 seconds after the fight to give the Capitals a 4-0 lead. It was the final goal scored against Binnington on Tuesday night, as he allowed goals on the last three shots he faced.

One of those shots came from Beauvillier’s backhand from the edge of the crease after Tucker’s failed clearance up the wall. After the turnover, Tucker was late to get back to the middle of the ice, leaving Justin Faulk to defend both Beauvillier and Ovechkin. Beauvillier faked out Binnington and patiently held for a backhand.

Binnington’s early exit obviously hurt the Blues’ chances to build momentum as they try to get their season back on track, but it could have ramifications for his Olympic hopes, too. Thompson is currently the best-performing Canadian goaltender in the NHL and could be Binnington’s primary competition for the starting job for Team Canada in February.

Escaping the first

The Blues were fortunate to exit the first period down only 1-0 after the Capitals outshot them 12-5 in the opening 20 minutes. That included an extended shift in the offensive zone that led to Parayko’s cross-checking penalty and, ultimately, Wilson’s power-play goal.

Parayko’s shift ended up being 2:59, and during that shift, Washington had 14 shot attempts. The Capitals had 27 shot attempts overall in the first period, and more than half of them came on that one Parayko shift.

Oskar Sundqvist and Dylan Holloway both blocked shots during the shift, and Jordan Kyrou and Holloway each had failed clearances as the Blues lost multiple races to loose rebounds in the corner. Dylan Strome nearly scored on a tip that was pushed wide by Binnington before Parayko broke his stick cross-checking Duhaime at the net front.

The fortune of the first period dissipated when the Blues allowed four goals in the second period.

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