Blues beat Leafs in Yeo's debut with team
ST. LOUIS -- Paul Stastny and Vladimir Tarasenko scored 35 seconds apart in the second period to lead St. Louis to a 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night in Mike Yeo's debut as the Blues head coach.
Yeo, the former Minnesota Wild coach, took over after Ken Hitchcock was fired on Wednesday. The Blues had lost five of their previous six games and four consecutive home games, all in regulation, before making the coaching change.
The Maple Leafs lost their third consecutive game and for the fifth time in their last seven games.
Goalie Jake Allen stopped 25 of 26 Toronto shots to get his first win in goal since Jan. 2.
The Blues and Maple Leafs traded goals in the first period. Mitchell Marner put Toronto ahead 14:24 into the game with his 13th goal of the season before Alexander Steen tied it with his 10th of the season at 17:58.
The Blues scored three times in the second period to build a 4-1 lead.
Stastny broke a 1-1 tie when he converted a pass from Steen at 6:27 before Tarasenko scored his 23rd goal of the season at 7:02.
Colton Parayko's power-play goal at 11:02 capped the flurry, with the three goals against Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen coming in a 4:35 span.
Andersen got the start for the Maple Leafs after being pulled on Tuesday night when he allowed three goals by the Dallas Stars on eight shots. The three St. Louis goals in the second period came on nine shots.
Stastny scored his second goal of the game and the fifth of the night for the Blues off a rebound at 12:28 of the third period.
NOTES: The Blues retired jersey No. 5 in honor of former defenseman Bob Plager in a pregame ceremony. Plager was a member of the first Blues team in 1967 and stayed through 1978 before moving into the front office. It is the sixth jersey number retired by the franchise. ... Mike Yeo kept the same lineup from the Blues' previous game, his first as the team's head coach. D Robert Bortuzzo and RW Dmitrij Jaskin were healthy scratches. ... D Morgan Rielly returned to the Toronto lineup after missing six games with an ankle injury. Also returning for Toronto was C Ben Smith, who had missed the last 18 games because of a hand injury. ... The Blues conclude a three-game homestand with Saturday night's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Maple Leafs play in Boston on Saturday night, the fifth stop on a six-game trip that began before the All-Star break.