Blues 1, Devils 0
Jake Allen registered his second shutout in as many starts and Vladimir Tarasenko scored a power-play goal early in the third period as visiting St. Louis won its sixth straight contest by taking the opener of a home-and-home set with New Jersey.
Allen highlighted his third career shutout and second this season by making 12 of his 26 saves in the second period. The 24-year-old New Brunswick native stopped all 24 shots he faced in the Blues' 2-0 victory over Anaheim last Thursday.
Rookie Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz each notched an assist for St. Louis, which has won five of its last six meetings with the Devils and opens a five-game homestand by hosting New Jersey on Thursday. The Blues went 1-for-3 on the power play after converting just one of 14 opportunities in the previous four contests.
Cory Schneider turned aside 22 shots while making his career-high 12th straight start for the Devils. Captain Bryce Salvador received a shoulder to the face from St. Louis' Alex Steen during a first-period collision, but returned shortly thereafter with cotton swabs inserted into his bloody nose.
After two scoreless periods, Tarasenko drew first blood at 4:55 of the third after a give-and-go with Lehtera before wristing a shot from the just above the right faceoff dot that sailed past Schneider. The NHL's First Star of the Week, Tarasenko has scored seven goals and set up two others in his last five games.
GAME NOTEBOOK: New Jersey RW Michael Ryder recorded a game-high seven shots on goal. ... Schneider's previous high for consecutive starts was 11, set last season. ... St. Louis' Dmitrij Jaskin had one shot on goal in 14:10 of ice time in place of LW Magnus Paajarvi, who was a healthy scratch.