Blues blast Howard in rout of reeling Red Wings
DETROIT -- The St. Louis Blues scored four goals on their five shots and coasted to a 6-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.
Brayden Schenn and defenseman Jay Bouwmeester each had a goal and an assist, and Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Sobotka, Scottie Upshall and Dmitrij Jaskin scored for St. Louis, which won its third straight. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo had two assists and Jake Allen made 28 saves.
Schwartz left the game late in the first period after taking a shot from Red Wings defenseman Mike Green off the ankle. It was announced as a lower-body injury.
Frans Nielsen scored for Detroit, which has lost eight of its last nine (1-5-3). Jimmy Howard stopped six of 10 shots before being replaced to start the third period by Petr Mrazek, who made 10 saves.
Schwartz gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead with 8:10 left in the first period. He followed his shot from the high slot and put in his own rebound for his 14th goal.
Sobotka doubled the advantage 4:07 into the second period when he scored on a wrist shot from the left circle off the rush. It was his sixth goal. Upshall scored on a breakaway 2:10 later after a turnover by Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall at the Blues' blue line for his fifth goal.
Bouwmeester got his first goal of the season with 3:34 left in the middle period.
Nielsen foiled Allen's bid for his second consecutive shutout when he scored on a rebound 7:18 into the second period. It was Nielsen's eighth goal and the first Allen had surrendered in 120:44.
Jaskin made it 5-1 nine minutes into the third period. It was his fourth goal.
Schenn got his 15th goal in the final minute.
NOTE: Detroit recalled F Tyler Bertuzzi from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on Friday. ... St. Louis recalled LW Sammy Blais from San Antonio of the AHL on Friday after sending him there on Thursday. ... Saturday was Green's 750th career game. ... The Blues' healthy scratches were RW Chris Thorburn, D Robert Bortuzzo and C Oskar Sundqvist. ... The Red Wings' healthy scratches were LW David Booth and D Xavier Ouellet. ... Detroit RW-D Luke Witkowski served the last contest of his 10-game suspension for returning to the ice after a game misconduct penalty on Nov. 15 vs. Calgary.