Blues 6, Wild 3
All-Star David Backes and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo each recorded a goal and an assist as the visiting St. Louis Blues extended the Minnesota Wild's losing streak to eight games Saturday with a 6-3 triumph in the opener of a home-and-home series.
Matt D'Agostini, rookie Adam Cracknell, Chris Stewart and Patrik Berglund also scored while Ty Conklin made 13 saves for the Blues, who ended their four-game skid at the Xcel Energy Center and host the Wild on Tuesday.
Antti Miettinen netted two goals, defenseman Marek Zidlicky also tallied and Andrew Brunette and captain Mikko Koivu notched three assists apiece for Minnesota, which has dropped four straight at home and nine of 10 overall. The Wild have scored only 12 goals during their eight-game slide.
With Minnesota ahead 2-1, Cracknell began a string of five straight goals by St. Louis with 63 seconds remaining in the first period. Stewart snapped the tie by burying a rebound at 7:09 of the middle session and Backes beat Niklas Backstrom, who stopped 41 shots, on a breakaway 23 seconds later to give the Blues a 4-2 advantage.
Pietrangelo and Berglund scored less than three minutes apart midway through the third.