VLADIMIR TARASENKO

The St. Louis Blues have taken another step in keeping their top young players in the fold long term.

Tyler Bozak scored 3:38 into overtime and the St. Louis Blues fended off elimination in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Nazem Kadri scored three goals, including two during a four-goal second period barrage, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 to take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference series.

David Perron scored twice, Jordan Binnington made 30 saves and the St. Louis Blues beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 to tie their second-round series at a game apiece.

Jordan Binnington made 25 saves and the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1 in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Vladimir Tarasenko had three goals in the third period to break open a tied game and series, and the St. Louis Blues pushed the Minnesota Wild to the edge of elimination with a 5-2 victory in Game 5.

Kirill Kaprizov had a hat trick and Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice for the Minnesota Wild, who snapped back at the St. Louis Blues with a 6-2 victory to even their first-round playoff series at one game apiece.

Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues scored 12 seconds apart in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied past the St. Louis Blues 5-3.

The St. Louis Blues cruised through the coldest outdoor game in NHL history to beat the host Minnesota Wild 6-4.

Some of the NHL's stars are not on the ice for the start of training camps.

Goaltender Carey Price has been exposed to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft after backstopping the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final.

Expect a fast and furious NHL offseason to unfold in the coming days and weeks.

Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves and Gabriel Landeskog scored the go-ahead goal in the second period to lift Colorado to a series sweep of the St. Louis Blues with a 5-2 win in Game 4 of the West Division series.

Nathan MacKinnon finished his first career playoff hat trick with an empty-net goal to help the Colorado Avalanche pull away late for a 6-3 win over St. Louis in Game 2 after the Blues avoided a pregame virus scare that nearly sidelined several players.

The NHL has cleared the St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights after virus testing errors.

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2019, file photo, St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, right, is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Denver. Tarasenko makes his return after early season shoulder surgery that limited him to three goals in 10 games. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Ditto for St. Louis, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blues and Avalanche were navigating through some key injuries before the season was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hiatus allowed time to heal and now the top two teams in the Western Conference return as Cup favorites. The two teams get things rolling Sunday in Edmonton by facing each other to kick off a round-robin tournament to determine seeding in the West. It should be a fun ride.Back on the ice for the Blues is forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who underwent shoulder surgery in late October.