St Louis MO - St Louis Blues David Perron scored the lone goal in the fourth round of the shootout, lifting the St. Louis Blues to a 4-3 victory over the suddenly struggling Capitals. Washington lost a pair of 6-5 games earlier in the week before the loss to the Blues ended a run of five straight games with at least five goals.

Chris Mason stopped Alexander Semin, Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Brendan Morrison in the shootout and had 31 saves in regulation and overtime for the Blues, who have won three in a row while attempting to climb into playoff contention in the Western Conference.

Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 42 goals and 89 points, came up empty on eight shots.  The St Louis Blues’ home record is near the bottom of the NHL at 12-16-5, but they’ve won three in a row and are three points out of a playoff spot.

Jose Theodore made saves against Patrik Berglund, T.J. Oshie and Brad Boyes before Perron rattled a backhander home in the fourth round.  Mike Knuble had two goals for the Capitals, who pulled one point ahead of San Jose for the overall NHL lead with 90 points.

Oshie had a goal and an assist and Mason started in goal for the second straight night, following a 4-0 shutout over Toronto. He was perfect in the shootout, stopping Semin with a brilliant sprawling butterfly save in the first round.

Knuble scored both of his goals on the Capitals’ top-ranked power play, while falling short of giving the franchise a fourth straight hat trick by four different players. Semin scored his 30th of the season and added an assist and Theodore made 33 saves.

St Louis Blues had three one-goal leads in the first two periods and each time the Capitals answered.

Berglund had an easy tap-in after Roman Polak’s wraparound attempt slid through the crease at 9:13 of the first for St. Louis. Knuble tied it less than two minutes later on a two-man advantage.

Oshie scored his 13th of the season, and second in two nights, converting a setup from Paul Kariya on a break midway through the second, but Semin’s shot from the right point made it 2-2 at 13:26.

Erik Johnson scored on a power play just under two minutes later, and Knuble countered by swatting in a rebound on the backhand for his 23rd of the season at 17:43. The Blues announced their 26th sellout of 19,150.

St Louis Blues - Chris Mason made 30 saves for his second shutout of the season, and T.J. Oshie and Alexander Steen scored short-handed goals in the second period to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 on Friday night.

Andy McDonald and B.J. Crombeen also scored. Coming off a shootout win over Detroit on Tuesday night, the Blues won consecutive games at home for the first time since Jan. 14-16.

St Louis Blues improved its home record to 11-16-5, still the worst in the NHL, while Toronto lost for the sixth straight time on the road to drop to 8-18-6 away from home, the league’s worst road record. The Maple Leafs are 2-13-2 on the road since Dec. 5 and were playing in their last game before the Olympic break.

McDonald opened the scoring with 5:38 remaining in the first period. On a 3-on-1 break, Erik Johnson’s initial shot was stopped by Jean-Sebastian Giguere, but Patrik Berglund grabbed the loose rebound and fed McDonald alone by the right post. McDonald jammed the puck past Giguere for his 19th goal of the season.

Mason faced his biggest challenges in the third period when Toronto peppered him with 15 shots, but he stopped them all for his 20th career shutout.

St Louis Blues made it 2-0 at 9:07 of the second period. With David Perron in the penalty box for interference, David Backes intercepted a Toronto pass in the Maple Leafs’ zone and tried to score on a wraparound. Giguere made the initial save, but the rebound came straight out to Oshie for his 12th of the season.

The Blues got their second short-handed goal of the period when Steen scored an unassisted goal, his 15th of the season. The former Toronto player circled behind the net and backhanded a shot through Giguere’s pads.

“Obviously (Oshie) capitalized on one,” Backes said. “And Alex Steen did a great job on winning two or three behind the net and comes around and stuffs one in their net.”

St. Louis hadn’t scored two short-handed goals in a game since Jan. 16, 2007, when it beat Anaheim 6-2.
The announced crowd of 19,150 was the St Louis Blues’ 25th sellout of the season.

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Anaheim defenseman James Wisniewski scored in the seventh round of the tiebreaker to help the Anaheim Ducks rally past the St Louis Blues 4-3 for their eighth victory in 11 games.

After watching four shooters come up empty in the rounds three through six, Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle turned to Wisniewski, who had never participated in a shootout.

Wisniewski calmly slipped the puck behind St Louis Blues goalie Chris Mason to give the Ducks their seventh win in the last nine meetings with the Blues.

Anaheim defenseman James Wisniewski gave Carlyle a long look during the shootout in an effort to catch his coach’s attention.

Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle’s choice of Wisniewski came as a shock to winger Bobby Ryan, who scored two goals including one with 30 seconds left to send the game into overtime. Anaheim had trailed 3-0.

Ryan triggered the Ducks’ third-period comeback with two goals in the final 8 minutes. Anaheim scored three times in the final 14:47 to erase the big deficit.

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The St Louis Blues jumped in front on second-period goals by Andy McDonald and B.J. Crombeen and a third-period tally by T.J. Oshie.

But Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer, the Ducks captain, started the rally with his fourth goal of the season. Ryan took over from there.

Anaheim also got goals from Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf during the first two rounds of the shootout. Brad Boyes and Oshie scored shootout goals for St. Louis.

Chris Mason stopped 34 of 37 shots including four in the tiebreaker. Anaheim’s Jonas Hiller stopped five shootout attempts to improve to 13-5 over the last 18 games.

Ryan says the comeback should give his team a shot of confidence as it continues its 13-day, six-game road trip. Anaheim lost to San Jose 3-1 on Thursday in the first game of the swing. Ryan recorded 10 shots on goal.

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Anaheim Ducks at St Louis Blues - Both teams have played well as they try to turn around disappointing seasons and return to the playoffs. Each team, however, will be hoping to rebound from a close defeat as the Anaheim Ducks continue their six-game road trip in St. Louis on Saturday night.

The Anaheim Ducks (23-21-7) had won seven of eight before opening its longest trip of the season with a 3-1 loss at San Jose on Thursday night, the Anaheim Ducks’ fifth straight loss to the Sharks since they eliminated San Jose in the first round of the 2009 postseason.
(22-21-7)

The Anaheim Ducks, who fell to 7-13-5 on the road, squandered two power-play chances in a 8:53 span of the third period while trailing by one goal, but they finished 0 of 5 with the extra man and the Sharks sealed the game with an empty-netter.

Anaheim Ducks has scored a power-play goal in each of its last four victories, although it went 0 for 4 in a 4-2 home win over the Blues on Jan. 7. The Ducks trailed that game 2-1 early in the third period before scoring three unanswered goals, including one by Matt Beleskey.

The 21-year-old wing has scored his first five NHL goals in the Ducks’ last nine games, including their lone tally against the Sharks.

The Ducks will try to exploit a St Louis Blues penalty kill that wasn’t sharp in a 3-2 loss at Ottawa on Thursday, allowing the Senators three goals on four power-play opportunities. That was an aberration for the Blues, who’ve killed 84.6 percent of their penalties to rank third in the Western Conference.

St Louis Blues (22-21-7), which is 5-4-1 under interim coach Davis Payne, had more shots in the third period (15) Thursday than it did in the first two periods combined (14). Anaheim Ducks’s Jonas Hiller, who is 12-5-0 with a 2.51 GAA in his last 17 starts overall, has won three of his four career outings against the St Louis Blues.

The St Louis Blues tied the game on Brad Boyes’ goal early in the final period, but Chris Phillips scored the game-winner for Ottawa with 9:31 left.

Mason is 1-7-0 with a 3.01 goals-against average in his career against the Ducks, and it’s possible backup Ty Conklin could start. Conklin is 4-0-0 with a 1.25 GAA against Anaheim, including a 26-save shutout in a 5-0 win Oct. 17.

Ottawa Senators' Peter Regin picked up his third power-play point of the game with an assist on Chris Phillips’ goal midway through the third and the Senators extended their streak to five wins in a row with a 3-2 victory over the St Louis Blues on Thursday night.

Peter Regin, who opened the scoring in the first, got his second assist of the game as Phillips put a wrist shot from the slot past Chris Mason 10:29 into the third for Ottawa’s third power-play goal of the game.  Brian Elliott stopped 27 shots to win his third straight start, and Milan Michalek also scored on the power play in his return after missing seven games because of a concussion. The Ottawa Senators had lost five in a row prior to their winning streak.

Brad Boyes scored 30 seconds into the third to draw St. Louis even at 2 after Eric Brewer scored the St Louis Blues’ first goal late in the second. Mason made 27 saves for St Louis Blues, which had won five of six.  Patrik Berglund, who did not dress for Wednesday night’s 4-3 overtime win in Montreal, was back in the St Louis Blues’ lineup as David Backes was sidelined by an upper-body injury.

St. Louis is 5-4-1 under coach Davis Payne, who took over behind the bench after Andy Murray was fired on January 2, 2010.

Ottawa Senators built a 2-0 lead midway through the second with a pair of power-play goals.

Regin, who has five points in his last two games, scored his second goal in as many games 16:09 in and assisted on Michalek’s 17th goal 10:59 into the second.  Alex Kovalev, who played his 1,200th regular-season game, set up both power-play tallies.

Regin, who had a goal and an assist in Tuesday night’s 4-1 win over Chicago, got credit for his eighth goal late in the first when Kovalev’s centering pass went in off the Danish center’s right skate.

David Perron scored an apparent tying goal for the Blues as time expired in the first. Referee Brad Watson pointed to the net to signal a goal although the green light signaling the end of the period prevented the goal judge from lighting the red light behind the net. A video review showed that time had expired before the puck crossed the goal line. Michalek, who scored 9 seconds after Jay McClement was sent off for high sticking.  Brewer redirected Perron’s shot from the right side into the net from the edge of the crease at 18:53 to draw St Louis Blues to 2-1.

The New York Rangers will try to provide some scoring support for goaltender Henrik Lundqvist on Saturday night when they visit the St Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center, who’ve been very stingy of late.

New York was among the lowest scoring teams over the last two seasons, while Lundqvist was one of the best goalies in the NHL with a 2.33 goals-against average and 13 shutouts. That prompted the Rangers to add high-scoring Marian Gaborik via free agency last summer.

Gaborik ranks among the NHL leaders with 28 goals and 54 points, the rest of the Rangers have struggled. Ryan Callahan is second on the club with 10 goals, and its total of 120 rank towards the bottom of the league.

Not even Gaborik has managed to score over the last two games as New York fell 2-0 to Ottawa on Thursday, two nights after a 1-0 shootout loss to New Jersey. The Rangers wasted two superb performances from Lundqvist, who stopped 32 shots against the Senators after making 45 saves through overtime only to be outplayed by the Devils’ Martin Brodeur, who had 51 stops.

Lundqvist likely will start Saturday, and is 4-1-2 with a 1.26 GAA and a shutout in his last seven games. The Rangers have supported him with 14 goals, while getting four in the last four contests overall (1-1-2).  The New York Rangers haven’t been blanked in 3 consecutive games since October 1999, and their current drought stands at 144 minutes, 23 seconds since Erik Christensen scored in the third period of last Saturday’s 3-1 win at Boston.

Gaborik has been a major part of the scoring funk. He’s failed to record a goal in a season-high four straight games, and has just two goals with three assists in his last 10.  Gaborik has nine goals and 13 assists in his last 15 games against the St Louis Blues, all coming with the Wild.

While New York is struggling to score, the Blues (20-19-7) seek a season-high four-game winning streak with a new face behind the bench.  St Louis Blues owns the worst home record in the NHL at 8-14-3, but are in position to sweep a three-game homestand under interim coach Davis Payne, who replaced the fired Andy Murray earlier this month.

That sudden success at the Scottrade Center has been aided by Chris Mason, who has stopped 45 of 46 shots over the last two games and has won three straight games with a 1.34 GAA.  Chris Mason made 19 saves for his first shutout this season and T.J. Oshie scored 26 seconds into the third period of a 1-0 win over Minnesota on Thursday.

T.J Oshie gave Chris Mason all the scoring support he needed to give the St. Louis Blues their third straight victory. Oshie, who broke a 10-game scoreless string in a 4-1 win over Columbus on Tuesday night, had his third game-winning goal of the season.

Mason stopped 19 shots for his 19th career shutout, and Oshie scored 26 seconds into the third period in St. Louis' 1-0 victory over Minnesota on Thursday night. Minnesota (24-21-3) had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Oshie, a former Minnesota high school star, fired a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle past goalie Josh Harding for his ninth goal of the season. Harding didn't get a good look at the puck, which deflected off defenceman Kim Johnsson.

St Louis Blues won consecutive home games in regulation for the first time this season. The Blues (20-19-7) also tied a season high with their third win in a row.

Mason posted his first shutout of the season and his first since April 12, 2009. He stopped Eric Belanger from close range midway through the third period. He also got plenty of help from his teammates, who blocked 13 shots.

St. Louis defenceman Mike Weaver blocked a game-high six shots including two in the third period. The St Louis Blues had 18 shots on goal in the first period, tying a season best set in the second period of 3-1 win at Nashville on Nov. 27. They had 37 shots overall.

St. Louis improved to 8-14-3 on home ice, still last in the league with 19 points. But Oshie feels the back-to-back home triumphs are a sign of better times. The Minnesota Wild dropped to 5-5 on the back end of back-to-back games. The Wild beat Vancouver 5-2 on Wednesday.

The Blues released goaltending consultant Ed Belfour on Thursday. Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom was given the day off after recording his franchise-record 114th victory Wednesday night in a 5-2 win over Vancouver.

The St Louis Blues head to Minnesota tonight to close out a four-game road trip versus the Wild at Xcel Energy Center. St. Louis has outscored its opponents 12-4 in picking up wins in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, improving to an outstanding 11-3-3 on the road this season. The Blues latest stop came on Wednesday, a 2-1 shootout victory over the Flames.

Patrik Berglund scored in regulation, while Brad Boyes and T.J. Oshie, celebrating his 23rd birthday, both scored in the shootout. Chris Mason made 23 stops and then another two in the deciding session.

The St Louis Blues were also sparked by the return of captain Eric Brewer, who had missed the last 13 games due to a back issue. St. Louis looks to continue its roll on the road, Minnesota wraps a three-game homestand having won five of its last six as the host. Overall, the Wild are 11-4-1 at home this year, having split the first two games of this residency.

After losing to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, the Wild skated past the Oilers, 3-1, two nights later. Owen Nolan notched the game-winner in the second period, while Andrew Brunette and Guillaume Latendresse also scored.  Brunette, who leads Minnesota with 11 goals, scored for the first time in nine games, while Niklas Backstrom made 30 saves.

The Blues notched a 3-1 home win on October 23, getting a goal and an assist out of David Perron and 20 saves from Mason, who is 4-3-2 with a 3.29 goals- against average lifetime versus Minnesota. Backstrom made 23 saves and is 4-5-0 with a 2.41 GAA in his career when facing the Blues.

The Wild were coming off consecutive losses, but are now 11-4-1 over their last 16 games. Minnesota will try to end a three-game losing streak to the St Louis Blues tonight, but has won two of three and eight of the last 10 played at Xcel Energy Center.

St. Louis Blues interim coach Davis Payne can appreciate the sense of relief after Jay McClement had a goal and assist in a big first St Louis Blues period of a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at the Savvis Center. The Blues won at home for the first time since beating Calgary on December 15, 2010 and are 7-14-3 overall in the Scottrade Center.

The Blues took a 3-0 lead on nine shots against Mathieu Garon, who was benched in favor of Steve Mason after one period. B.J. Crombeen and Alex Steen also scored in the opening period for St. Louis, which has won two straight under Payne and ended Columbus’ first three-game winning streak since mid-November.

Jay McClement, a member of the checking line, said the Blues kept the energy level high like they do when they’re traveling. St. Louis is 12-5-4 on the road.

Fedor Tyutin scored in the second period for the Blue Jackets, who have lost 14 of 17 on the road but had won their previous two including Garon’s second shutout of the season Sunday at Dallas. Columbus outscored opponents 9-4 during its winning streak.  Steen added an empty-net goal with 9.2 seconds left and Chris Mason made 26 saves for the Blues, who are an NHL-worst 7-14-3 at home. Those failures led to Payne taking over as coach earlier this month.

St. Louis scored on its first shot after McClement stole a clearing pass from defenseman Jan Hejda, setting up Crombeen’s third goal of the season and second in two games at 1:54. Steen scored his eighth on a power play and McClement scored his seventh 42 seconds apart later in the period.

The St Louis Blues’ Keith Tkachuk returned three games after getting four teeth knocked out on a slap shot by teammate T.J. Oshie, although he was credited for a goal. Forward Paul Kariya also was back after missing six games. Attendance of 17,900 was just shy of capacity, ending the Blues’ run of 11 straight sellouts, the Blues had allowed a third-period goal in nine straight games.

Besides the scoring, the first period featured three fights. The Blues’ Erik Johnson and Columbus’ Mike Commodore got game misconducts for squaring off after Backes and Nash had already dropped the gloves.

Sad but true - Ex-St Louis Blues Goalie Curtis Joseph retired on Tuesday, ending a 19-year career in the NHL in which he was No. 4 on the career NHL victory list.

The 42-year-old Joseph was the most successful goalie to have never won the Stanley Cup. He had 454 victories, trailing only Martin Brodeur (585), Patrick Roy (551) and Ed Belfour (484).

He said he had a “great career” and “didn’t leave anything on the table” at a news conference in Toronto, where he ended his career with the Maple Leafs.

Curtis Joseph entered the league as an undrafted free agent. He also played for St. Louis, Edmonton, Detroit, Phoenix and Calgary.

Curtis Joseph eventually clawed his way into the NHL as an undrafted free agent, en route to becoming an all-star, playoff hero and the fourth-leading winner among all goaltenders in league history. And on Tuesday, the 42-year-old brought the unlikely journey to a close, thanking McNab early in an upbeat news conference at the Air Canada Centre.

Pundits have already begun debating Joseph's candidacy for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Joseph earned 454 regular-season wins through his remarkable 19-year career, leaving him behind only Martin Brodeur (585, heading into play Tuesday night), Patrick Roy (551) and Ed Belfour (484) for the all-time lead.

The flip side is Joseph is also the winningest goaltender never to have won the Stanley Cup. And, thanks to a career that hop-scotched through St. Louis, Edmonton, Toronto, Detroit, Phoenix and Calgary, no one fan base can truly claim him as its own.

The St Louis Blues try to end their five-game skid at Scottrade Center and hand the Blue Jackets an eighth straight loss there Tuesday night. A matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have had their own problems winning at the Savvis center in St. Louis, might get things turned around.

The St Louis Blues (18-19-7) replaced Andy Murray with Davis Payne before a 6-3 loss to Chicago on January 3 that completed an 0-3-1 homestand. The Blues are 6-14-3 at home this season.  Davis Payne’s club went on the road and lost twice before ending a seven-game overall slide with a 4-3 victory at Los Angeles on Saturday. The Blues took a three-goal lead early in the third period and held on.

“There are special wins along the way, and this no question is one of them,” said Payne, who was elevated after coaching Peoria of the AHL. “It’s the thrill of a lifetime, and one I’ll remember for quite some time. These guys battled hard, stuck to the game plan and did everything we asked of them. We were able to build enough of a cushion to get it done.”

This will be the second meeting of the season between the two worst teams in the Central Division. R.J. Umberger recorded his second career hat trick and had a season-high four points in a 5-2 home victory November 30, 2010. St. Louis has not lost at home to Columbus (18-20-9) since a 4-1 defeat March 27, 2007. The Blue Jackets have scored 10 goals during their seven-game road slide in the series, with six of the losses coming in regulation.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have won three straight after losing 21 of 24 as they try to get back into playoff contention. Mathieu Garon(notes) has started every game during the win streak and made 26 saves in a 2-0 home victory over Dallas on Sunday.

“Tonight was a great effort,” said center Antoine Vermette, who scored for the third straight game. “Mathieu was a big factor tonight. He made some huge saves on big breakaways at key moments.”

Garon has gone 8-2-0 with a 2.53 goals-against average in 10 starts against St. Louis, including 4-0 with a 2.36 GAA on the road. The Blue Jackets are seeking their first four-game win streak since March 7-13.

St Louis Blues Brad Winchester scored 14 seconds into the game after St. Louis started the wrong lineup, and the Blues snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

David Perron, T.J. Oshie and B.J. Crombeen also scored in the St Louis Blues’ first win in four games under interim coach Davis Payne. St. Louis is 12-5-4 on the road—its best start away from home after 20 games in terms of points in the franchise’s 42-year history.

Chris Mason made 21 saves for the Blues, who outshot Los Angeles 32-24 two nights after the Kings had 51 shots in a 2-1 loss to Detroit. Brandon Segal scored his first NHL goal for the Kings, Jarret Stoll had a goal and two assists, and Rob Scuderi had two assists.

Jonathan Quick stopped 19 of 23 shots before he was pulled with 14:39 remaining when Crombeen’s wrist shot gave the Blues a 4-1 lead.

The Kings got back in the game in the third period on goals by Stoll and Anze Kopitar less than 4 minutes apart. Kopitar’s 18th came on a power play.

The St Louis Blues  grabbed a 1-0 lead after using a different starting lineup than the one Payne submitted to the official scorer. Brad Boyes was listed on the sheet to start at left wing, but Perron was there instead and was still on the ice when the Blues scored.  Blues LW Paul Kariya missed his sixth game because of a concussion. LW Keith Tkachuk sat out his third after breaking teeth in a game against Chicago.

The goal was declared legal because Perron wasn’t the one who scored. Carlo Colaiacovo, who had jumped over the boards with defense partner Mike Weaver just seconds after the opening faceoff, took a wrist shot from the left point that caromed off Winchester and past Quick’s glove.

Segal, playing in his 14th NHL game and 12th with Los Angeles, tied it at 6:09 of the second period.

The St Louis Blues, who blew leads twice at Anaheim in Thursday’s 4-2 loss, took a 2-1 lead into the third after Perron scored his 12th goal 66 seconds before intermission. The Blues have allowed only three goals in their last 58 short-handed situations on the road. The St Louis Blues are 4 for 38 on the power play over nine games after going 4 for 5 at Edmonton.

St Louis Blues Rookie Alex Pietrangelo wanted a gold medal at the World Junior Championships, an award for the top defenseman at the tournament and a one-way ticket to San Jose to rejoin the Blues, 2 out of three isnt bad.

The U.S. edged Canada 6-5 in overtime in Tuesday's championship game, giving Pietrangelo a silver medal. After the tournament, he was honored as the top defenseman, a reward for his three goals, nine assists and plus-9 rating in six games.

Then late Tuesday night, the Blues announced they were sending Pietrangelo back to his junior hockey team, the Niagara IceDogs, instead of returning him to the NHL.  Alex Pietrangelo was not available to comment Wednesday.

The chances are good that Niagara will deal Pietrangelo before the Ontario Hockey League's trading deadline Monday. The IceDogs are last in the Eastern Conference with a record of 12-22-2-3. The front-runner for Pietrangelo is rumored to be the Barrie Colts, who lead the conference with a mark of 31-5-0-1.

Blues forward Paul Kariya missed his fourth consecutive game Wednesday with a concussion, but Kariya did practice with the team earlier in the day, which was the first time he's done that since the injury occurred December 27, 2009. Kaleta received a two-minute penalty on the play, but the NHL decided not to suspend him, much to the dismay of Kariya.

Blues forward Cam Janssen caused a stir with his comments following the firing of ex-head coach Andy Murray Saturday.

"I just like to know where I stand with coaches," Janssen told the Post-Dispatch. "I know I can speak for a lot of guys on this team with that. You want to know where you stand, and I think with Andy, you had no idea." On Tuesday, when the Blues arrived in San Jose, Janssen called Murray to mend the fence.

"We cleared up everything, and basically laughed about it," Janssen said. "It was a stupid thing that just blew up. I knew it was my fault. I said what was on my mind. You don't really think you're talking to the whole world whenever you get quoted on something like that. It's not like I haven't been in this business for a while. I should know that. I will learn from it."

Barret Jackman scored his first two goals of the season for the Blues, who have lost seven straight. Jackman’s second of the night, and the season, gave the Blues a 2-1 lead 56 seconds into the third. He scored with a shot that ricocheted off Ducks defenseman Ryan Whitney and into the net.  Blues forward Paul Kariya, formerly of the Ducks, missed his fifth game because of a concussion. LW Keith Tkachuck sat out after breaking teeth in a loss to Chicago on Saturday

Matt Belesky scored the go-ahead goal with 2:40 left and the Anaheim Ducks beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Thursday night. After Belesky scored off a rebound of Corey’s Perry shot, Todd Marchant followed it up with an empty-net goal at 19:17 to give the Ducks their second straight win.  Ducks forward Bobby Ryan used center Eric Brewer as a screen and scored the tying goal, with an assist from Saku Koivu, at 8:18 of the third period. It was Ryan’s 20th goal and 35th point of the season.

St. Louis’ Blues Goalie Chris Mason made 25 saves. Jonas Hiller stopped 20 shots for Anaheim. The Ducks got even 1-1 after failing to capitalize on a two-man advantage. Defenseman James Wisniewski fired in a shot at 6:44 in the second period.

Missed opportunities filled the night for the Ducks. They had 29 shots and failed on five power-play chances. Anaheim has scored only once in its last 28 advantages.  The St Louis Blues, one of the NHL’s lowest-scoring teams, took a 1-0 lead against defensively challenged Anaheim.

St. Louis entered ranked 26th in the league with 2.50 goals per game. Anaheim had allowed an average of 3.12 goals. Jackman scored a short-handed goal off an assist from Jay McClement at 5:35 of the first. Jackman scored with a slap shot off a faceoff.

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The Philadelphia Flyers love to play in St. Louis and probably wish they played every game here.

The Philadelphia Flyers seek to continue their dominance of the St Louis Blues and conclude their three-game road trip with consecutive victories as the teams face off Saturday night.

This is the first meeting between these clubs since Feb. 10, 2007, when Philadelphia Flyers won 4-3 at home in overtime on a goal by Simon Gagne. That was the fourth straight win for the Philadelphia Flyers over the Blues since a 3-1 home loss on Dec. 7, 2002.

Their dominance in St. Louis is even more unbelievable. The Philadelphia Flyers has defeated the St Louis Blues five straight times on the road, and has not lost in St. Louis Blues since Feb. 29, 2000. Since the start of the 2000-01 season, the Philadelphia Flyers have outscored the Blues 39-19 while taking eight of nine matchups in the series.

Philadelphia Flyers has scored at least four goals in each of its last four victories over the St. Louis Blues, and may be poised to do so again after cruising to a 6-1 win Friday night at Tampa Bay. Jeff Carter scored twice to overtake Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for the NHL lead with 32 goals, and Mike Richards added two goals and an assist.  The production came as a relief to Richards, who’d produced only one goal in his previous 12 games.

Carter and Richards each had a goal in the Philadelphia Flyers’ win over St. Louis two years ago—the only previous game against the St Louis Blues for both players. Richards has two goals and four assists during a four-game overall point streak.

The Philadelphia Flyers are seeking its fourth victory in five games overall. The Philadelphia Flyers could use a win here, as they face Eastern Conference leading Boston in a home and home set beginning Wednesday.

The St Louis Blues had earned at least a point in four consecutive games (3-0-1), but got cooled off Thursday night in a 3-1 home loss to Ottawa—the last-place club in the Northeast Division. The game was tied until 1:57 remained in the third period, when the Senators’ Peter Regin beat the St Louis Blues’ Chris Mason for his first NHL goal.  Brad Winchester scored his second goal in three games to provide the St. Louis Blues with thier only offense.

Though the St Louis Blues usually struggle as a unit against Philadelphia, Keith Tkachuk has enjoyed individual success. The veteran winger has 15 goals and 27 points in 20 career matchups versus the Philadelphia Flyers.