Patrik Berglund scored two power-play goals to help the St. Louis Blues defeat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 at Scottrade Center. Ty Rattie scored his first NHL goal, and Scottie Upshall and David Backes scored for St. Louis, which has won two straight, and five in a row against New Jersey. Brian Elliott made 22 saves, and Alexander Steen had two assists. It was the Blues' first regulation win since Dec. 22 (2-0 at the Boston Bruins).
The win was the 200th for coach Ken Hitchcock with St. Louis; he has 733 NHL victories. Berglund played his sixth game of the season after missing the first 40 following offseason shoulder surgery.
The Blues played without seven regulars who are out with injuries, but the timeliness of Berglund's return, he has three goals in six games, helped alleviate some of the void left by injuries to Jake Allen, Jay Bouwmeester, Paul Stastny, Carl Gunnarsson, Magnus Paajarvi, Jaden Schwartz and Steve Ott.
Bobby Farnham and Lee Stempniak scored for the Devils, who got two assists from Adam Larsson and 32 saves from Keith Kinkaid. The Devils have split two games during a season-high four-game trip that continues Thursday at the Colorado Avalanche. New Jersey, who led 2-1 in the first period, hasn't won here since Dec. 30, 2008.
Elliott made three saves on Joseph Blandisi less than two minutes into the second period. Instead of a 3-1 Devils lead, Elliott kept it 2-1 and gave the Blues the chance to build some momentum. Eilliott was starting in place of Allen, who was injured Saturday.
The Blues tied it 2-2 when Upshall was able to backhand a rebound of Troy Brouwer's shot at 4:33 of the second period. Berglund's second of the game came on the power play when he redirected Alex Pietrangelo's pass from the high slot past Kinkaid with 2:46 left in the period to give the Blues a 3-2 lead. It was Berglund's first two-goal game since April 3.
Rattie deflected Kevin Shattenkirk's slap shot from the left point past Kinkaid 2:21 into the third period. The Devils challenged, claiming goalie interference by Rattie, but the goal was allowed to make it 4-2. It was the Blues' first third-period goal in the past 140:26 dating to Dec. 29. Rattie, the 32nd pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, was playing his 19th NHL game. Backes scored into an empty net with 35.9 seconds left.
Berglund second goal since returning gave the Blues a 1-0 lead. His second effort in front of Kinkaid came after the puck caromed off defenseman David Schlemko's skate at 10:04 of the first period. The Devils scored twice in a 2:35 span to take a 2-1 lead. Farnham's shot from the high slot using Shattenkirk as a screen tied the game at 12:12, and Stempniak collected Adam Larsson's shot from the right point off a rebound and beat Elliott on the second chance at 14:47.
Blues Quotes
Patrik Berglund: "I'm almost there. Not all the way but pretty close. It feels pretty good out there. I feel comfortable. Today I was just in the right place at the right time for us, and it was nice. It's good that we got some power-play goals and stuff like that. It felt good."Ken Hitchcock: "[Berglund's] playing really well right now. This is really five of the [six] games he's played really well in. When you see that, you can afford to play him at a high level. You're always worried for a player coming back from such a long-term injury, when does he hit the wall, but I think he hit the wall earlier than we thought and now he's punched through it. He seems more energized than he's even been, which is a good sign for us."
"That turned the game. That's 3-1, we're chasing big time. I think [those saves] really jacked up the bench. Good for [Elliott] and good for us because we needed [them]."
Brian Elliott: "They do a lot of lateral plays and look for that next pass. [Blandisi] was kind of in the corner, and I just tried to get over there as quick as I could. Got a skate on it, got a stick on it, and then I was able to cover it."
Ty Rattie: "Of all the goals in my life, that one jumps to No. 1. I was nervous, real nervous. But when [the referee] said, 'The call on the ice stands,' I couldn't wipe the smile off my face after that. ... I thought it hit my glove and I didn't feel anything else. On the replay, maybe it showed that I touched [Kinkaid's] blocker a little bit, but I'm not going to argue. Upstairs said good goal, and I'll take it."
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