Blues 4, Canadiens 1
Andy McDonald recorded a goal and two assists and Matt D’Agostini scored a goal and set up another as the St. Louis Blues posted to their third straight win with a 4-1 triumph over the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
David Backes tallied and Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves for the Blues, who took advantage of a Canadiens team still suffering from the loss of Max Pacioretty. The Connecticut native is out indefinitely after taking a brutal hit from Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, resulting in a severe concussion and a fractured vertebra.
The Canadiens looked fine early on Thursday, taking the lead at the 12:30 mark of the first period when Jeff Halpern tipped in Alexandre Picard’s shot for his 11th goal of the season.
St. Louis tied it up with 1:01 left in the first as Backes accepted a feed from McDonald and slapped a shot from above the faceoff circle, slipping it between Carey Price’s pads. McDonald gave the Blues the lead just 1:06 into the second period after wristing it from the doorstep up and over Price’s shoulder.
D’Agostini tipped in McDonald’s shot with 1:29 left in the third and T.J. Oshie added a shorthanded empty-net goal in the final seconds to complete the scoring.