Blues send Blue Jackets to fifth straight loss, 4-2

Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists in the visiting St. Louis Blues' 4-2 win over Columbus, handing the Blue Jackets their fifth straight loss on Saturday night. Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and an assist, Carl Gunnarsson scored and Brayden Schenn had three helpers for St. Louis, which won its second straight and third in the past four games.

Oskar Sundqvist sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 30 seconds left, and Jordan Binnington made 18 saves to improve to 6-1-1. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Pierre-Luc Dubois tallied for the Blue Jackets, Artemi Panarin had two assists and Joonas Korpisalo stopped 29 shots.

The assists marked Panarin's 19th multi-point game. He has six multi-point outings in his past nine games. Top goal scorer Cam Atkinson returned to the lineup for Columbus after missing Thursday's 4-3 loss in Winnipeg. The winger received four stitches and had some loose teeth when he was hit in the mouth by a puck that caromed off the crossbar in warmups.

Korpisalo stuffed a streaking Tarasenko just 20 seconds into the game, and Binnington denied Josh Anderson seven seconds later after the top-line forward beat the St. Louis defense down the ice. An All-Star performer in San Jose one week ago, O'Reilly extended his point streak to seven games at 8:28 of the first period when he easily tapped in his team-leading 19th goal on a rebound after Alex Pietrangelo's long shot rolled through Korpisalo's crease.

Schenn recorded his 200th career assist when his short pass into the blue paint was chipped in by Gunnarsson with 45 seconds left for a 2-0 lead. The defenseman's goal was his third this season and gave him seven points in his last nine games. The second period was scoreless as both clubs struggled to generate shots. Columbus produced just five shots in the first period then barely beat that total with eight in the second as Binnington was rarely challenged.

Bjorkstrand scored on the Blue Jackets' 15th shot, burying a nifty feed from Panarin at 6:15 of the third period, but Tarasenko dove in and tapped in a rebound for his 18th goal and a 3-1 lead just 34 seconds after Bjorkstrand's marker. Dubois cut it to 3-2 at 17:23 with his 19th goal with Korpisalo pulled for an extra attacker. However, Columbus couldn't cash in a second time to tie it and fell short.

--Field Level Media

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