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Blues double up Wild in battle of lowly clubs

Mar 27, 2011 - 3:31 AM St. Paul, MN (Sports Network) - David Backes and Alex Pietrangelo both had a goal and an assist, and the St. Louis Blues rolled to a 6-3 victory over Minnesota, handing the Wild their eighth straight loss.

The Wild, who are 0-7-1 during their losing streak, had a 25-minute closed door meeting after the game, but didn't provide any details.

"I feel for the fans," forward John Madden said afterward. "I've never missed the playoffs, so for me this stinks. To go out like this really stinks."

Matt D'Agostini, Adam Cracknell, Chris Stewart and Patrik Berglund also scored for the Blues, who have won two straight but also remain out of playoff contention in the Western Conference.

Ty Conklin gave up three goals on just 16 shots, but stopped 11 of the 12 shots he saw in the second and third periods as the Blues rallied from an early 2-1 deficit.

Antti Miettinen had two goals, Marek Zidlicky scored one and Andrew Brunette tallied three assists for the Wild, who remained 11th in the conference. Niklas Backstrom was peppered with 47 shots and saved 41.

Zidlicky opened the scoring with a wrister from the right side 3:13 into the game and D'Agostini tied it for St. Louis 5 1/2 minutes later. Miettinen scored his first of the game on a power play at 13:53, netting a one-timer from in close on the left side.

But the Blues scored five straight goals after that to take control.

Cracknell started the surge on an unassisted tally with 63 seconds remaining in the first period, picking off a Minnesota pass deep in the Wild zone and stickhandling around Backstrom for the score.

Stewart and Backes lit the lamp just 23 seconds apart in the middle period to make it 4-2. Stewart scored on his own rebound in front, while Backes got behind the defense on a long Pietrangelo pass for a 1-on-1 opportunity against Backstrom at 7:32.

Pietrangelo scored eight minutes into the third and Berglund gave the Blues a 6-2 lead at 10:45. Miettinen got his second goal with 2:08 remaining in the game, but it was far too little, too late for the Wild.

They finished with four shots in the first period, seven in the second and five in the third.

"Our defensemen did a pretty good job of stalling their rushes," said Backes.

Game Notes

It was the last game of a four-game homestand for Minnesota and also the start of a home-and-home between the teams. They will meet again in St. Louis on Tuesday.