Avalanche lose to Blues, second in row after streak

ST. LOUIS -- Carter Hutton made 36 saves for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Scottrade Center on Thursday.

WATCH: [All Avalanche vs. Blues highlights]
Hutton made his fifth straight start and ninth in the past 11 games for St. Louis (30-18-3), which is 8-0-1 in the past nine against Colorado.
Hutton is 7-1-1 with a 1.81 goals-against average, a .938 save percentage and one shutout in his past nine starts.
"I try to just chip away, I try not to think too much into it," Hutton said. "I just play, compete when I do play, try to help us win.
"We're playing really well too. You've got to give a lot of credit to our team and our defensemen. We've got a big defensive group that doesn't give up a lot of secondary chances, and I'm able to see a lot of chances, and when I do give up rebounds, guys are there fighting to eliminate pucks, and now getting a player like [Jaden Schwartz] back, it just adds to our arsenal."
Alex Kerfoot scored and Jonathan Bernier made 31 saves for Colorado (27-18-3), which has lost two straight after a 10-game winning streak.

"We've just to regroup," Kerfoot said. "We knew we weren't going to win the rest of the games throughout the season. You're going to lose games at times, but there are no excuses for our effort at the beginning of the game tonight. We've got to regroup on this [All-Star] break and come back better."
Alexander Steen had a goal and an assist, and Paul Stastny and Brayden Schenn scored power-play goals for the Blues.

"I really liked the start to our game tonight," St. Louis coach Mike Yeo said. "I thought that there was a good investment in the game itself as far as trying to send a message that it's going to be a hard night. I think that we do have a lot of respect for the team that we were playing tonight as far as their skill level and their ability to create offense."
Stastny scored on a rebound at 15:53 of the first period to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead. The Blues outshot the Avalanche 17-8 in the period.
"Especially early on, we were extremely hungry on the forecheck and turned a lot of pucks over," Steen said. "The second period, the reason why they get a little bit of life is because we take that foot off the gas a little bit and we give them a little bit space to pick up passes and get their head up and move it. I think that's what we liked the most out of the first period is just how aggressive and quick we got on them."
Schenn's goal at 11:28 of the second period gave the Blues a 2-0 lead. Kerfoot scored to make it 2-1 on a rebound in the slot at 17:09.
Steen scored with 1:20 remaining in the third period to give St. Louis a 3-1 lead.

Goal of the game

Schenn's goal at 11:28 of the second period.

Save of the game

Hutton's save on Mikko Rantanen 4:41 into the second period.

Highlight of the game

Bernier's save on Patrik Berglund 1:41 into the first period.

They said it

"Now is a good time for the [All-Star] break and decompress again now that the winning streak is over. We've lost two games in a row and hopefully we get some of those guys healthy after the break." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar
"I think both units are simplifying. We're not trying to make passes that aren't there, force plays. I think it's just kind of simplifying, passing the puck where it needs to be and getting more pucks to the net." -- Blues defenseman Vince Dunn on the power play, which went 2-for-3
"Their goalie played well They had their chances too. Our goalie played well today like always. Some nights it's hard to find the back of the net. We're just going to regroup after the All-Star break. Luck wasn't on our side this night." -- Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov
"Normally I've been pretty streaky. It wasn't going in there for a while, but I was getting chances. You can't complain when the chances are coming. I think when you're getting chances, goals will come." -- Blues center Brayden Schenn on scoring for the fourth straight game

Need to know

Schwartz played 18:22 and had four shots on goal after missing 20 games with a fractured right ankle. … Colorado defenseman Anton Lindholm's assist was his first NHL point in his 45th game. ... Steen's 173rd goal with St. Louis moved him into eighth place in Blues history past Red Berenson.

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What's next

Avalanche: At the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, ALT, NHL.TV)
Blues: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)