Paajarvi scores twice in Blues' victory
ST. LOUIS -- Magnus Paajarvi scored a pair of goals to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 victory Thursday night over the Vancouver Canucks.
The victory was the fourth in a row and ninth in 10 games for the Blues, who held onto third place in the Central Division. They are tied with Nashville but own the tiebreaker over the Predators, who defeated the Calgary Flames 3-0 on Thursday night.
Vancouver lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Paajarvi's first goal tied the game at 1-1 and he converted a pass from Patrik Berglund at 9:42 of the third period to increase the lead to 3-1. The Canucks challenged that the play was offside but the goal was allowed to stand after a video review.
It was only the second two-goal game for Paajarvi in 136 games in the NHL. His first came during his rookie season with Edmonton in 2011.
Kyle Brodziak broke the 1-1 tie with his eighth goal of the season, set up by defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. He intercepted a Canucks pass and left the puck for Brodziak, who fired a shot past goaltender Ryan Miller at 17:13 of the second period.
Pietrangelo added an empty-net goal for the Blues with 2:35 left.
Goalie Jake Allen got the win, his seventh in his last eight games. He allowed a total of 10 goals in those eight games.
The Blues responded to an early goal by the Canucks, tying the game 1-1 at 17:32 of the first period when Paajarvi scored off his own rebound after the scoring chance was created by a pass from Ivan Barbashev.
Vancouver's goal, by Henrik Sedin at 13:38 of the first period, came a couple minutes after Miller stopped a breakaway by the Blues' David Perron. Alexander Edler's shot went off the Blues' Alexander Steen, and Sedin was able to knock the loose puck into the net.
NOTES: The Blues were without their top center, Paul Stastny, who will miss at least a week because of a foot /ankle injury suffered when he was hit by a shot in Tuesday night's game. ... Alexander Steen moved to C to take Stastny's spot on the Blues' top line with LW Zach Sanford moving to the second line. .. RW Nikolay Goldobin returned to the Canucks' lineup after missing six games because of illness. ... The Blues host Calgary on Saturday night while the Canucks' five-game road trip continues Saturday afternoon at Minnesota.