Rangers 2, Blues 1
ST. LOUIS -- Left winger Chris Kreider's goal in the third period broke a 1-1 tie and gave the New York Rangers and goalie Henrik Lundqvist a 2-1 victory Thursday night over the St. Louis Blues.
The win was the 30th of the season for Lundqvist, allowing him to reach that mark for the 10th time in his career. He became the first goalie to win 30 or more games in 10 of his first 11 seasons and only the third with 10 or more 30-win seasons in his career, joining Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. It was the 369th win of his career.
Lundqvist also set the Rangers' franchise record for career saves with his 11th save of the game, coming in the first period. It was the 17,380th save of his career, passing the mark of 17,379 set by Mike Richter.
Kreider scored his first goal since Feb. 4, a span of in nine games, 4:18 into the third period when he converted a backhand pass from left winger Ollie Lindberg. His shot from the slot beat goalie Jake Allen just seconds after Lundqvist had stopped Blues' Scottie Upshall on a breakaway attempt.
The Blues lost their second consecutive game in regulation, the first time that happened since Dec. 31-Jan. 2. The Rangers' improved to 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.
The Blues tied the game at 1 on a power-play goal from right winger Troy Brouwer at 14:23 of the second period. Brouwer's 12th goal of the season came after Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi was assessed a double minor for high-sticking Blues right winger Vladimir Tarasenko.
Left winger Tanner Glass had given the Rangers the early lead with just his second goal of the year, on a deflection of a shot by Girardi, at 13:14 of the first period.
The Blues, saddled with numerous injuries all season, saw another player have to leave the game in the first period. Center Jori Lehtera appeared to take a puck off his face late in the period and went directly to the locker room and did not return. There was no immediate announcement from the Blues other than he suffered an upper-body injury.
NOTES: RW Dmitrij Jaskin was inserted into the Blues' lineup in place of RW Ryan Reaves, who served the first game of a three-game suspension for his hit on Sharks D Matt Tennyson on Monday night. ... The Blues said D Alex Pietrangelo, out since Feb. 6 because of a knee injury, could return on Saturday when the Blues begin a four-game trip at Nashville. ... D Ryan McDonagh and D Marc Staal both returned to the Rangers' lineup. McDonagh had missed six of the last eight games, including the last two, with a sore jaw and neck, while Staal had to sit out the last game because of a sore back. ... The Rangers play at Dallas on Saturday night.