Brian Elliott played his 100th career game with the St. Louis Blues tonight, and earned the win tonight's 3-2 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche.
The Blues dominated the first period, holding the Avalanche to just two shots all period. Meanwhile, Vladimir Tarasenko put the Blues on the board after he rifled a shot past the glove of Colorado goaltender, Semyon Varlamov.
Tarasenko also scored the second goal of the game, with a one-handed deflection on an Alex Pietrangelo point shot. Tarasenko now has six goals to lead the team, and five goals in his last three games.
Ryan O'Reilly and Nathan MacKinnon scored the goals for the Avalanche, both goals coming in the third period, and both being scored with the man advantage.
Joakim Lindstrom notched the only goal in the shootout for the Blues and Elliott stopped all three shots he faced to preserve the victory.
The Blues got David Backes back tonight, after he suffered a concussion against the Dallas Stars. He played 17:34 and had two shots on goal, but for the most part, you couldn't tell when he was on the ice. He wasn't making many offensive plays, while he was sound defensively.
The injury problems continue, as Ryan Reaves left the game after getting hit in the head by John Mitchell. Mitchell's elbow came up and caught Reaves right on the chin. Reaves retaliated with a cross check, and after serving his penalty, he went to the locker room and did not return to the game.
Despite playing shorthanded, the Blues have now won four straight games. They have defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, the Dallas Stars, the Anaheim Ducks, and now the Colorado Avalanche. All four of these teams will likely end up seeing post-season hockey this season, so these wins are always important, especially early in the season.
The Blues will be headed to New York to battle the Rangers on Monday. The Blues are hoping to have T.J. Oshie and Paul Stastny back in the line up sometime during this road trip.
As always, comment and let me know what you thought about tonight's game. You can reach me at randallritchey@gmail.com and on twitter @randallritchey.