Blues Down Bruins, NHL Scores

By ESPN

The St. Louis Blues turned around a listless start by getting gritty in the second period.

Robert Bortuzzo and Paul Stastny scored 2:12 apart in the second and Jake Allen had 39 saves, helping the Blues beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 on Tuesday night despite getting just seven shots on net in the first 20 minutes.

"We were so sideways in the first period trying to make plays that weren't there," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Once our attack went direct, I thought the second period was the best we've played on the road."

Star Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara played just one shift in the second period before exiting with an undisclosed injury. With Boston using only five defenseman, St. Louis was able to wear the Bruins down.

"We got caught in our own end at times for long periods of time and then we had some guys that were out there tired," Boston coach Claude Julien said.

The Blues won their fourth straight and put an end to a four-game road losing streak. Hitchcock said the turnaround was remarkable and simple. The Blues kept control of the puck in the offensive zone, kept it moving and got themselves in position to capitalize on rebounds.

"I thought in the second period we had a lot of participants. We're still not there yet, but the second period was a marked improvement from what we've been playing on the road before," Hitchcock said. "It was a direct contrast to the first period."

Jori Lehtera scored twice for St. Louis, including a shot into an empty net with 1:16 left just after Allen stopped a one-timer to preserve the lead. Colton Parayko and Patrik Berglund each had two assists.

Longtime Blues captain David Backes scored for Boston in his first game against his former club, putting the Bruins up 1-0 early in the first with the 20,000th goal in franchise history. Montreal is the only other NHL team with 20,000 goals.

Dominic Moore also scored for the Bruins, who played much of the last two periods without Chara.

Tuesday, November 22 Scoreboard

St. Louis 4, Boston 2

Carolina 2, Toronto 1

Ottawa 4, Montreal 3

Philadelphia 3, Florida 1

New York Islanders 3, Anaheim 2 (SO)

Wednesday, November 23 Schedule (All Times Central)

Detroit at Buffalo, 6 p.m.

Toronto at New Jersey, 6 p.m.

Pittsburgh at New York Rangers, 6 p.m.

St. Louis at Washington, 6 p.m.

Calgary at Columbus, 6 p.m.

Winnipeg at Minnesota, 6 p.m.

Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m.

Dallas at Nashville, 7 p.m.

Edmonton at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Vancouver at Arizona, 9 p.m.

Chicago at San Jose, 9 p.m.

New York Islanders at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.

Thursday,  November 24 Schedule (All Times Central)

Carolina at Montreal, 6:30 p.m.

Boston at Ottawa, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, November 25 Schedule (All Times Central)

New York Rangers at Philadelphia, noon

Pittsburgh at Minnesota, 3 p.m.

Chicago at Anaheim, 3 p.m.

New York Islanders at San Jose, 3 p.m.

Buffalo at Washington, 4 p.m.

Winnipeg at Nashville, 5 p.m.

Calgary at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Columbus at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m.

Detroit at New Jersey, 6:30 p.m.

Vancouver at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Edmonton at Arizona, 8 p.m.

Saturday, November 26 Schedule (All Times Central)

Washington at Toronto, 6 p.m.

Carolina at Ottawa, 6 p.m.

Montrela at Detro8it, 6 p.m.

Columbus at Florida, 6 p.m.

New Jersrey at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at St. Louis, 7 p.m.

Vancouver at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Chicago at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.

Anaheim at San Jose, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 27 Schedule (All Times Central)

Tampa Bay at Boston, noon

Nashville at Winnipeg, noon

Arizona at Edmonton, 2 p.m.

Florida at Carolina, 5 p.m.

Ottawa at New York Rangers, 6 p.m.

Calgary at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m.