Perron scores hat trick as Blues shut out Wild in Game 1, seize home-ice advantage

David Perron had a hat trick and an assist to lead the St. Louis Blues past the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Monday night in Game 1 of their first-round series, one year after he missed the playoffs with COVID-19.

Ryan O'Reilly scored, Torey Krug added three assists and Ville Husso made 37 saves for the shutout in his post-season debut for the Blues, who seized home-ice advantage from a Wild team they've had their way with in recent years.

Perron scored on each of the first two power plays for St. Louis. The Blues went 6 for 6 on the penalty kill for the greatest source of frustration for the Wild on a night marked by up-close misfires and clanged posts. They had a 55-28 edge on the Blues in shots attempted over the first two periods, but 14 of them went wide of the net.

Game 2 is here Wednesday night, before the series shifts south to St. Louis.

Marc-Andre Fleury got the nod in goal for the Wild over All-Star Cam Talbot, who went 13-0-3 in his last 16 starts. Fleury, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner and three-time Stanley Cup champion, was acquired in a trade with Chicago on March 21.

Fleury started strong with a pad save on a penalty shot by Ivan Barbashev, but Perron put the Blues on the board less than 3 minutes later. After Brayden Schenn checked Wild defenceman Matt Dumba to the head and knocked him over, Jordan Greenway was called for roughing to give the Blues their first power play. Perron scored on a rebound just before the extra-skater time expired.

Fleury stopped 27 shots.

Husso was picked over Jordan Binnington, who backstopped the Blues all the way to the Stanley Cup title as a rookie in 2019. For the first game, at least, the inexperience once again didn't matter in the St. Louis net.

Perron bounced back in a