Avalanche 3, Blues 1
ST. LOUIS -- Semyon Varlamov stopped 42 of 43 shots to carry the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-1 win Sunday night over the St. Louis Blues.
First-period goals from right winger Jack Skille and center John Mitchell supplied the offense as the Avalanche kept the Blues without back-to-back wins since a three-game winning streak from Nov. 4-10.
One night after he earned a 3-0 shutout over the league-leading Dallas Stars, goalie Jake Allen allowed the two Colorado goals on their first five shots in the game.
A turnover by Blues' defenseman Petteri Lindbohm in the neutral zone set up the goal by Skille, his third of the season, at 6:09 of the opening period.
The Blues had a golden opportunity to tie the game, but Varlamov stopped a point-blank shot by right winger Dmitrij Jaskin and the Avalanche immediately responded with Mitchell's seventh goal of the season off a feed from left winger Alex Tanguay at 11:50.
Right winger Vladimir Tarasenko, celebrating his 24th birthday, cut the lead to 2-1 with a power-play goal at 12:55 of the third period. The goal was his 18th of the season and came off a rebound of a shot by Paul Stastny, 21 seconds after Tanguay was sent off the ice for a hooking penalty.
The Blues pulled Allen for an extra attacker but then allowed an empty-net goal by center Carl Soderberg with 22 seconds to play.
The Blues out-shot Colorado 43-18 in the game. The 18 shots equaled the fewest by Colorado in a game this season and also tied the fewest allowed by the Blues this season.
It was the sixth time since Nov. 10 the Blues lost when they had a chance to win consecutive games.
NOTES: With 84 career NHL goals on his 24th birthday, RW Vladimir Tarasenko has the most goals at that age for the Blues since Doug Gilmour scored 113 between 1983-87. ... LW Gabriel Landeskog returned to the Avalanche lineup after missing the last two games because of back spasms. ... The Blues kept the same lineup for the fourth consecutive game, scratching C Scott Gomez and D Robert Bortuzzo. ... The Avalanche will conclude a three-game trip on Tuesday night in Chicago. That will complete a stretch that has the Avalanche playing 20 of their first 32 games this season on the road. ... The Blues completed a five-game homestand. They will play at Winnipeg on Tuesday night.