NHL Game Summary - Minnesota at St. Louis
St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Vladimir Tarasenko posted a hat trick and Jake Allen turned aside 24 shots to help the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild in Game 2 of this Western Conference quarterfinal series.
Patrik Berglund also had a goal while Alex Steen and Kevin Shattenkirk each added two assists for the Blues, who were able to split the first two games after dropping Thursday's opener, 4-2.
"Our top players needed to have a big impact on our hockey team today and we saw that on the ice," said St. Louis head coach Ken Hitchcock. "We were very engaged with all aspects of play tonight."
Marco Scandella scored a goal while Devan Dubnyk allowed three on 26 shots for the Wild, who will host the next two games of this series with Game 3 set for Monday night.
"We'll find a way to get better because we are much more capable than what we showed on the ice tonight," said Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo. "The outcome of the game was frustrating to all of us."
The Blues took the lead with 6:42 to play in the first period as Steen threw a shot on net from the high slot that Tarasenko tipped in as he cruised past the front of the net.
Skating on the power play after Matt Dumba was called for interference, St. Louis made it a 2-0 game. Steen sent a pass from the right boards to the left circle for Tarasenko, who skated to the side of the net and was able to sneak in a sharp-angle shot for his second of the game with 1:59 left in the first.
The second period passed without either side getting one in the net, as both goalies made 10 saves in the frame and Minnesota killed off two penalties while St. Louis worked off one.
Minnesota made it a one-goal game 1:46 into the third as Scandella shot a one- timer from the left point that he didn't get all of as his stick broke, but he got enough of it for the puck to sneak in the left post for a 2-1 game.
Charlie Coyle nearly tied the game for Minnesota with 8 1/2 to play as he danced behind the defense and got an off-balance shot on net from the slot that hit off the crossbar. The puck then hit off the back of Allen and was just about to cross over the goal line before David Backes shuffled it under his goaltender.
Berglund put the game out of reach with 1:58 to play as his wrister from the left wing found the back of the net, and Tarasenko capped the hat trick with 16.1 seconds to play on an empty-netter.