The Blues have relied on Vladimir Tarasenko and the two goalies, Jake Allen and Brian Elliott, to earn wins lately. Tonight, they got goals from Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Steen and David Backes.
Meanwhile, Michael Ryder scored twice and Marek Zidlicky beat Allen, all three goals coming in the last four minutes of the game.
Jake Allen held a shutout streak of 184:01 A very impressive feat for a rookie goaltender.
The Tarasenko goal, was no surprise, a highlight reel goal. He completely deked out Damon Severson and scored on a sprawled out Corey Schneider.
The second goal came from a beautiful breakout pass from Barret Jackman, which sent Schwartz on a breakaway. Schwartz was being chased by Severson, but the Devils defensemen couldn't catch him, and Schwartz beat Schneider between the blocker and the body to give the Blues a two goal lead.
The third goal came on the power play. Tarasenko, to Jori Lehtera, to Steen out front. Steen got inside position of Severson, and beat Schneider on the blocker side. This was the end of Cory Schneider's night, and rookie goalie Keith Kinkaid came into the game, only his second NHL appearance.
Paul Stastny, in his first game back after injury, took an ill-advised penalty and that's when Ryder would find his scoring touch. He sniped a shot on Allen to end the shutout streak and Allen's bid on a third consecutive shutout.
A power play for the Blues just a few minutes later allowed the Blues to gain a 4-1 lead. Kevin Shattenkirk passed to Alex Pietrangelo on the point, and he fired a shot toward the goal. The puck was going wide, but the captain, David Backes, tipped the puck past Kinkaid to boost the Blues lead.
At this point, the defense fell apart. Marek Zidlicky fired a shot past Allen from the point. There were Blues who were in the lane who didn't block the shot and it made the game 4-2.
Then the ageless wonder, Jaromir Jagr, showing he's still has the skill to play this game. He threaded the needle with a beautiful pass to a wide open Michael Ryder, who dropped to one knee to fire the puck past Allen.
The Devils almost tied it in the dying seconds, but Jake Allen came up with a big save to conserve the lead as well as the win.
Ian Cole almost had his first goal of the year in the first period, but Stephen Gionta shoved Jori Lehtera into Cory Schneider, and the officials waived the goal off for accidental contact. Lou Korac tweeted this a little later.
Rule 69.3 states that contact with the goalie, incidental or not, while goalie is in his crease and a goal is scored will be disallowed.
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) November 7, 2014
Barret Jackman had a very strong game, both defensively and offensively. He denied a Devil's forward of an open net wrap-around, and registered a beautiful assist on a breakout pass to Jaden Schwartz.
Despite getting the loss, coming into today's game had to be an emotional moment for Keith Kinkaid. He played in 40 games for the St. Louis Bandits in the 2008-09 season. He posted 30 wins, and an impressive 1.78 goals against average.
Paul Stastny returned to the Blues line up tonight, and he looked a little behind the play. It's to be expected after missing time with injury. He'll likely be back up to speed by Saturday when the Blues play the Nashville Predators.
Lastly, how about David Backes tonight? He's looking back up to speed after his concussion. He played physically (despite taking the worst of a hit by Eric Gelinas), he was blocking shots, and scored a power play goal tonight. It's nice to see the captain back to playing his style of game.
The Blues are back at it Saturday as they take on Filip Forsberg and the Nashville Predators. Forsberg leads the team with 14 points in 12 games. He's just 20 years old too, making it even more impressive.
Lets keep Daniel Winnik in our prayers as well. The Toronto Maple Leaf forward was hit by Colorado's Jan Hejda and he fell awkwardly on his neck/head and was knocked out. He was stretchered off the ice and there hasn't been any update on his condition yet. Keep him in your thoughts.