Home Hockey Three first-period goals propel Blues

Three first-period goals propel Blues

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Photo By: (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Following a high-scoring loss to the Boston Bruins at home, the St. Louis Blues rebounded to beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-1 for the second time in five days.

The Blues scored the first three goals in about an 11-minute span including a big power play goal from David Backes.

The one stain on the day was the injury to Jake Allen as he left the game after making 11 saves in the first period. Anders Nilsson entered the game in relief and stopped 20 out of 21 shots faced in the game.

Following the victory, the Blues now sit 47-23-9 with 103 points. With four games remaining for St. Louis, the Blues hold a solid four-point lead on Chicago in the Central Division, but trail the Dallas Stars by two points with a game at hand.

In the first period, the Blues wasted little time getting in front.

Following a quality opportunity for the Avs on the penalty kill, the Blues quickly transitioned defense into offense in a two on one. Backes and Vladamir Tarasenko criss crossed as Backes dropped the puck. Tarasenko then slid the puck back over to Backes who ripped it past the blocker of Semyon Varlamov for the goal.

Just a few minutes later, the Blues struck again as Troy Brouwer passed to Paul Stastny in the high slot. Stastny struggled to maintain control of the puck as it squirted to the front of the net. Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson was there in front. Paajarvi tried to stuff it home once, then twice, and finally the third attempt found its way to the back of the net to make it 2-0 with 11:04 left in the first period.

The Blues weren’t done in the first as Alexander Steen broke into the zone on another two on one. Steen tried to thread a pass, but it was broken up back toward the side boards. Tarasenko quickly corralled the puck and sent it back to Steen behind the goal line. Steen showed patience and waited as Colton Parayko created a seam and a one-timed the pass from Steen into the back of the net to make it 3-0. The goal marked the end of Varlamov’s night as the net minders allowed three goals on 17 shots faced.

In the second period, the narrative remained the same.

With under four gone in the second and a face off in the attacking end of the Blues, Kyle Brodziak won the draw. Brodziak won the draw back to Alex Pietrangelo who took a slap shot that wired into the back of the net making it 4-0.

In the third period, the Avalanche finally got on the board.

On the power play, a shot came from the point as Mikkel Boedker, Mikhail Grigorenko and Matt Duchene were all jamming at the puck in front of the net. Eventually, Duchene was able to punch it home making it 4-1.

However, after the play, Duchene celebrated for his 30th goal of the season. This sparked scathing comments from his coach, Patrick Roy, about the celebration when his team was down 4-1.

In the end, it didn’t matter as Troy Brouwer added a bit of insurance later in the period to cap off a 5-1 victory.

Next up for the Blues will be a matchup against the Arizona Coyotes at home. The game is set for Monday, April 4 at 7 p.m.

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