Blues Hit Double Digits, Clip Wings For 10 Goals In Rout
DETROIT -- Cam Janssen and Chris Porter scored for the first time this season, helping the St. Louis Blues beat the Detroit Red Wings 10-3 on Wednesday.
The Red Wings gave up eight goals in the first two periods of a game for the first time since 1986 and 10 in a game for the first time since 1993.
Joey MacDonald, playing for the injured Jimmy Howard, was chased after giving up five goals midway through the second period. MacDonald was back in net for the third period after Thomas McCollum allowed three goals on eight shots in the second.
Jaroslav Halak, meanwhile, made 41 saves for the Blues.
Detroit has won only one of six, cutting its cushion to six points ahead of Nashville in the Central Division with five games left for both teams and its lead over San Jose to a point in a race to be the second-seeded team in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Blues are in a 3-0-1 stretch, putting Columbus in last place in the division.
Detroit scored first on Mike Modano's slap shot off a rebound 5:51 into the game, then it went downhill for the home team that was booed early and often by a sellout crowd.
Chris Stewart started the scoring flurry at the 14:06 mark of the first period and Janssen ended a 114-game streak without a goal two minutes later.
After Todd Bertuzzi made it 2-all late in the first, Porter scored what proved to be the winner 29 seconds later.
St. Louis outscored Detroit 5-1 in the second on goals from Matt D'Agostini, Brandon Crombeen, David Backes, Roman Polak and Vladimir Sobotka.
Detroit didn't score again after Henrik Zetterberg's 24th goal of the season midway through the second period.
The Blues didn't let up, making it 10-3 in the third on Patrik Berglund's goal early in the period and Porter's second goal of the game with 2:10 left long after most of the fans walked out of Joe Louis Arena.
The last time Detroit gave up eight goals in the first 40 minutes of the game was March 3, 1986, when it lost 12-3 to Edmonton. The Red Wings allowed double digits in goals for the first time since Oct. 9, 1993, in a 10-3 setback against the Los Angeles Kings.
Notes
Howard, sidelined by a sore left shoulder, hopes to play Saturday at Nashville. ... Blues center T.J. Oshie served the second game of his two-game suspension for missing practice Monday. General manager Doug Armstrong said the franchise would re-evaluate the situation Thursday.
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