St. Louis 6, Columbus 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 4, 2014
Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Referees:
Mike Hasenfratz, Rob Martell
Linesmen:
Derek Amell, John Grandt
Attendance:
19611
By SportsDirect Inc.
Blues 6, Blue Jackets 2: Patrik Berglund scored twice and host St. Louis rallied with six unanswered goals to extend its winning streak to five games.
Vladimir Sobotka and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo each had a goal and an assist and Maxim Lapierre and Jaden Schwartz scored as the Blues erased a 2-0 deficit to improve to 8-0-0 against Eastern Conference opponents. Brian Elliott won his sixth consecutive start, turning aside 22 shots to help St. Louis boost its home record to 17-3-2.
Artem Anisimov and Mark Letestu scored first-period goals for Columbus, which lost for the third time in four games. Curtis McElhinney garnered an assist and made 31 saves in dropping to 0-5-0 lifetime against the Blues.
St. Louis went ahead when Sobotka and Lapierre scored 94 seconds apart late in the second period, the latter goal coming on a rocket from the top of the right circle with 2:31 left in the session. Bergland redirected a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko past McElhinney 14 seconds into the third and Schwartz made it a 5-2 lead 8 1/2 minutes later with his seventh goal in eight games.
Letestu scored a bizarre goal at 11:22 of the opening period when he tossed a shot toward the the net that hit a Blues defender, deflected high in the air and went over Elliott's shoulder to make it 2-0. Berglund started the comeback just past the seven-minute mark of the second period when he deflected defenseman Barret Jackman's shot from the right point past McElhinney.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Blues captain David Backes returned to the lineup after a three-game injury absence and collected two assists, as did Tarasenko and D Kevin Shattenkirk. ... Blue Jackets F Derek MacKenzie served the first of a three-game suspension for boarding Phoenix D Oliver Ekman-Larsson. ... St. Louis had 29 shots over the final two periods and has outscored its opponents 104-50 in the second and third sessions.
Top Game Performances
Columbus |
|
St. Louis |
Artem Anisimov 1 |
Points |
Patrik Berglund 2 |
Artem Anisimov 1 |
Goals |
Patrik Berglund 2 |
Blake Comeau 1 |
Assists |
David Backes 2 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Curtis McElhinney .838 |
Save Percentage |
Brian Elliott .917 |
Curtis McElhinney 31 |
Saves |
Brian Elliott 22 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Columbus
|
24 |
2 |
0-1 |
1-1 |
4 |
23 |
St. Louis
|
37 |
6 |
0-1 |
1-1 |
4 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
St. Louis will play their next game on the road against Edmonton. The Blues have a W/L % of .690 after a win and .750 after a loss.
-
Columbus will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .389 after a win and .458 after a loss.