Schwartz scores twice, Blues KO Wild
ST. LOUIS -- Jaden Schwartz scored a pair of goals, including one in a three-goal first period, to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 6-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.
After being shut out by the Nashville Predators on Friday night, the Blues got off to a fast start against the Wild, scoring on three of their first eight shots against goalie Devan Dubnyk, the final one from Schwartz.
Schwartz added a power-play goal in the third period, his 13th goal of the season, after the Wild had cut the deficit to 4-3. Sammy Blais then capped the scoring for St. Louis with another power-play goal, the first goal of his career.
The win was the 12th in a row by the Blues on the second night of back-to-back games. The loss was just the second in regulation by the Wild in their last nine games.
Paul Stastny gave the Blues the early lead with a power-play goal 6:15 into the game, redirecting a shot by Vladimir Sobotka. The goal came with Jonas Brodin serving a tripping penalty.
Dmitrij Jaskin increased the lead to 2-0 with his third goal at 11:09 before Schwartz scored off a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko at 16:54, giving the Blues the three goals in a 10:39 span.
The Wild cut the lead to 3-1 on a short-handed goal by Charlie Coyle, his first goal of the season, at 15:02 of the second period. He capitalized on a turnover by Blais and beat goalie Jake Allen.
Kyle Brodziak restored the three-goal advantage for the Blues with his own short-handed goal at 2:09 of the third period, 31 seconds into a slashing penalty against Alexander Steen. On the same penalty, however, Zach Mitchell scored for the Wild to again pull them within two before Eric Staal added another power-play goal at 8:52 to make it a 4-3 game.
Nino Niederreiter failed to score for the Wild, snapping his six-game streak with at least one goal, which tied the franchise record set by Brian Rolston in 2008.
NOTES: RW Sammy Blais replaced RW Magnus Paajarvi in the Blues lineup. Paajarvi hurt his foot blocking a shot in Friday night's game, but the injury is not believed serious. ... D Carl Gunnarsson was a healthy scratch by the Blues for the third consecutive game. ... The Wild will play their third consecutive division game on Monday night at Winnipeg. ... The Blues are off until Wednesday night, when they will host the Anaheim Ducks.