Capitals score seven again, rout Blues
ST. LOUIS -- Andre Burakovsky and T.J. Oshie each scored one goal and assisted on another Thursday night as seven Washington Capitals scored in a 7-3 rout over the St. Louis Blues.
The Capitals bounced back from an 8-7 overtime loss in Pittsburgh on Monday night as they improved to 10-0-2 in their last 12 games. The Blues lost for the fourth time in their last five games at Scottrade Center.
It was the third consecutive home game in which the Blues allowed five or more goals.
The Capitals blew the game open with four goals in the second period to take a 6-1 lead before Evgeny Kuznetsov increased the lead to 7-1 at 6:20 of the third period. Alexander Steen scored two late goals for the Blues.
Alex Ovechkin, Washington's leading scorer, did not score a goal but recorded two assists.
The Capitals scored five or more goals for the fifth consecutive game, the first time they had done that since Feb. 4-11 2010.
Washington took advantage of a struggling Jake Allen in goal for the Blues, scoring on two of their first three shots 7:41 into the game.
Burakovsky's goal extended the Blues' streak of having allowed the first goal in each of their last eight home games, and Jay Beagle's goal made it 2-0.
Allen was pulled from the net for the fourth time in his last six starts, but returned after a 2:22 stay on the bench. He got through the rest of the period unscathed, but quickly got in more trouble in the second period.
After Jaden Schwartz scored for the Blues only 19 seconds into the period to cut the lead to 2-1 -- his first goal in 12 games -- Allen gave up two more goals and was pulled for a second time.
Oshie scored his first career goal against his ex-teammates before Brett Connolly scored on a breakaway to make it 4-1. Allen allowed the four goals on 10 shots.
The Capitals' Marcus Johansson increased the lead to 5-1 with his goal on the first shot against Hutton, coming 11 seconds after Connolly's goal. A power-play goal by Justin Williams made it a 6-1 game 13:30 into the second period, with the six goals coming on 16 shots on goal.
NOTES: D Carl Gunnarsson returned to the Blues lineup for the first time in eight games, seven of which he missed because of a lower-body injury. He replaced D Joel Edmundson, who was a healthy scratch for the first time in 21 games. ... LW Scottie Upshall, a healthy scratch for the last three games, also was back in the Blues lineup, in place of RW Nail Yakupov. ... Capitals D John Carlson missed his second consecutive game because of a lower-body injury. The Capitals considered calling up another defenseman from the minor leagues for their two-game trip but decided to not make any roster moves. ... The Capitals play Saturday night in Dallas while the Blues begin a three-game trip Saturday in Winnipeg.