Blues score nine, cruise past Wild in first of three-game set

ST. LOUIS -- Ryan O'Reilly scored his second NHL hat trick for the St. Louis Blues in a 9-1 win against the Minnesota Wild at Enterprise Center on Friday.

Justin Faulk and Sammy Blais each had a goal and two assists, and Jaden Schwartz scored two goals for St. Louis (18-16-6), which won a second straight game after losing seven in row (0-6-1). Jordan Binnington made 24 saves.
O'Reilly had an assist for his second four-point game of the season (one goal, three assists in 5-2 win at San Jose Sharks on March 20).

The Blues scored eight goals during their seven-game skid.
"I think it's nice to help our goaltenders out and score some goals," O'Reilly said. "We think putting the puck in the net is a good feeling, something we want to continue, that's for sure."
Kaapo Kahkonen allowed nine goals on 38 shots for Minnesota (24-13-2). It was the most lopsided loss in Wild history, and the nine goals were the most allowed in one game by Minnesota and the most allowed by a Wild goalie in one game.
"Not a fun experience," Kahkonen said. "That was embarrassing by myself. I felt I left my team down. Tough night, obviously."
It was the first of three straight games between the teams. They will play here Saturday and at Minnesota on Monday.
Zach Sanford gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 1:32 of the first period.
Schwartz made it 2-0 at 6:59 before Zach Parise's first goal in 15 games cut the lead to 2-1 at 7:33.
Schwartz made it 3-1 at 15:23, and Blais scored for the second straight game to make it 4-1 at 16:53.
"Throughout a season, you're going to have some times where you're not scoring as much as you'd like, you're not going to get rewarded for some of the work you're doing," Schwartz said. "And we were kind of going through a bit of a funk there, and it was frustrating for everyone. Everyone was probably gripping it, but we did a good job of staying with it.
"Tonight, we got rewarded. It's a funny game sometimes with the way bounces go. It was nice to see everyone chipping in today."
O'Reilly made it 5-1 at 1:09 of the second period.

He poked the puck away from Victor Rask at the St. Louis blue line and scored an unassisted shorthanded goal on a breakaway to make it 6-1 at 4:39.
"It's really nice. I can't remember the last time I scored a shorthanded goal," O'Reilly said. "I was trying to apply pressure on the kill and got it with my stick and almost fell over shooting but managed to get it in the net. It's nice. It's been awhile since I scored one of those."
Faulk scored his first goal in 26 games at 8:19 to make it 7-1 on the Blues' 23rd shot on goal.
O'Reilly scored his third of the night to make it 8-1 at 10:17 of the third period when he tipped Jake Walman's wrist shot from the left point.
Ivan Barbashev scored a power-play goal at 17:39 to make it 9-1.
"They started great, we started bad," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "Everything that's been poorly done all year was poorly done, not only early, but often and throughout the game."
Robert Thomas, Tyler Bozak and Torey Krug each had two assists for the Blues.
Thomas was injured late in the third period when the forward was boarded by Wild defenseman Carson Soucy, who received a minor penalty.
"He's probably going to be out for a certain amount of time," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "I'm not sure yet."
NOTES: The nine goals were the most by the Blues since a 10-3 win at the Detroit Red Wings on March 30, 2011. Their previous high this season came in a 7-6 victory at the Sharks on Feb. 27. … St. Louis has held Minnesota to two or fewer goals in six of the past seven games. ... O'Reilly has scored 11 points (six goals, five assists) in nine games against the Wild in his three seasons with the Blues. ... Minnesota forward Kevin Fiala's seven-game point streak ended (five goals, six assists).