The St. Louis Blues offense was clicking, but it was goaltender Vadim Zherenko who stole the show in the opening game of the 2023 Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. Zherenko made several dazzling saves en route to a 5-1 win against the Minnesota Wild on Friday night in St. Paul, Minn.
Mikhail Abramov opened scoring late in the first period, and the Blues prospects carried that momentum over into the middle frame. Keean Washkurak added a shorthanded goal before invite Alexis Bonefon made it 3-0 minutes later.
Nikita Alexandrov, wearing the captain’s ‘C’ for the showcase, increased the lead to 4-0 with a power-play tally early in the third. The Wild broke Zherenko’s shutout late in the game before Blues forward Zach Dean finished a pretty passing play from Zachary Bolduc to restore the four-goal lead.
St. Louis plays their second and final game of the tournament on Saturday at 6 p.m. when they face off against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks prospects. The game will be streamed live on the Blues YouTube channel and the Blues App.
