Elliott shines in Blues win

ST. LOUIS -- Paul Stastny, Jori Lehtera and Troy Brouwer each had a goal and an assist for the St. Louis Blues, who scored three power-play goals for the first time in more than a year in a 4-1 victory against the struggling Minnesota Wild at Scottrade Center on Saturday.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored, and Robby Fabbri had two assists for the Blues (30-17-8). Goalie Brian Elliott made 38 saves, including 23 in the second period.

The Blues had not scored three power-play goals in a game since Jan. 6, 2015, at the Arizona Coyotes.
"Patience. I think we were a little hungrier," Stastny said when describing the power play. "We got a lot of possession off draws, and then more poise. I don't want to say patience, had more poise. We weren't forcing things that we were in the past.
"... Our power play was good and we simplified. We started getting more shots, and from the shots, we created more open spots. All three power-play goals were created from having shots on net and getting rebounds and getting them out of position, and then we made plays from there."

Matt Dumba scored for the Wild (23-20-9), who have lost five games in a row (0-4-1) and 10 of 11 (1-9-1). Goalie Devan Dubnyk made 20 saves; he is 0-7-1 his past eight starts.
Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, who made forwards Thomas Vanek and Jason Zucker each a healthy scratch, liked the effort from the Wild despite the result.
"More often than not, you end up playing a game like that and you come out on the short side, and if we recognize that and see what we put into the game tonight and bring that back home with us, then I think that we'll have a chance to get this turned around," Yeo said. "We need to win hockey games, but when you put the right effort and you put the right attitude into the game, then you bring something that you can take some pride out of. That's something that you can build off of and that's what we need to do right now."
Despite allowing a season-high 24 shots in the second period, the Blues outscored the Wild 3-1.
Tarasenko scored his second goal in 12 games to give the Blues a 1-0 lead when he beat Dubnyk with a wrist shot high on the short side after a saucer feed from Stastny at 2:47. It was the Blues' first power-play goal since scoring two against the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 12.

"You can almost hear the collective sigh on the bench," said Blues associate coach Brad Shaw, who spoke to the media after the game in place of coach Ken Hitchcock.
Lehtera's first goal in seven games, another power-play goal, put the Blues ahead 2-0 at 9:19. Robby Fabbri's shot from the slot caromed off Dubnyk, hit Lehtera's leg and trickled into the net.
It was the type of goal the Blues, who scored five times in the five previous games, felt would help them break out of their scoring slump.
"I think right now, we'll take everything we (can) get," Lehtera said. "You have to do the ugly ones before you can get the nice ones. ... Our team got way better after that goal. It was an important goal for us."
Elliott prevented the Wild from making it 2-1 when he robbed Nino Niederreiter on a chance in the slot, and Stastny came back and scored at the other end at 16:51 to make it 3-0.
"That's the one that kind of makes you happy," Elliott said. "Guys take that kind of momentum and go down there and put it in the back of the net. It was good. We've been struggling scoring, and tonight we kind of clicked on the power play a little bit and really made some nice plays."

From nearly being in a 2-1 game to going up 3-0 was uplifting for the Blues and deflating for the Wild.
"Everyone noticed it too," Stastny said. "They're a team that's struggling right now; we're a team struggling to score. That makes it a three-goal game instead of a one-goal game. It completely changes the way both teams look at the way the game was going. We take that save and get momentum whether we score on that play or just keep going. That's a play that uplifts the whole team and the whole energy of the building."
The Wild got one back on the power play at 18:14 when Dumba collected a rebound after a wild scramble in front of Elliott and scored into an open net after the Blues goalie thought he had the puck covered.
The 24 shots for the Wild set their road record for a period and tied their all-time record. It was also the most shots the Blues allowed in a period since Chris Osgood faced 25 in the third period Oct. 29, 2003, against the Detroit Red Wings.
"He was great again; he was fantastic," Shaw said of Elliott. "He gets a little spun around on the goal they ended up scoring, but we have to do a better job on shot lanes on our penalty kill and you have to stay out of the box. You can't take that volume of penalty kills against anybody. I thought the game was the type of game that had a chance to get out of hand; it almost got there, but we have to keep our heads above us a little bit better than that."
Brouwer scored his 11th of the season at 2:38 of the third period. From the slot, he one-timed Fabbri's pass from below the goal line for the Blues' third power-play goal and a 4-1 lead.
Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo appeared to take a check on the right knee from the Wild's Charlie Coyle with 7:20 remaining in the game and did not return.
Shaw said Pietrangelo was "a little sore" and will be evaluated Sunday.