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Blues cruise past Blue Jackets

Mar 11, 2012 - 6:17 AM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Brian Elliott stopped 21-of-22 shots fired his way, backstopping the St. Louis Blues to a comfortable 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Scottrade Center on Saturday.

David Perron, Chris Stewart, T.J. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo all scored and Andy McDonald added two assists for the Blues, who have won four straight games and sit atop the overall NHL standings with 95 points.

"We're having tons of fun," Stewart said of sitting on top of the standings. "Anytime you're winning hockey games and you're on top of the league you can have fun. We're all involved and we're making the most of the opportunity."

Cam Atkinson scored and Curtis Sanford was tagged for four goals on 29 shots for the Blue Jackets, who had their season-high four-game win streak snapped.

St. Louis opened the scoring six minutes into the first frame after McDonald brought the puck into the offensive zone on the left wing. He glided down below the circle before firing a sharp-angle shot that hit off the side of the net and caromed right to Perron, who buried it from in close.

Columbus tied the game 2:24 into the second period after Mark Letestu sent a shot on net from below the goal line that was stopped by Elliott, but the rebound came right out in front to Atkinson, who slammed it home.

The Blues closed out the contest by scoring the final three goals.

Stewart made it 2-1 for St. Louis after he picked up the puck in his defensive zone following a blocked shot and raced the other way up the left wing. He swung wide and lifted a deft backhander over the shoulder of Price at 9:17 of the second frame.

"It was a huge goal," Blue Jackets interim head coach Todd Richards said of Stewart's tally. "I think at that point we were outplaying them and at least controlling the second period. We had some chances but we misfired and then they score, but I thought we had the momentum before that goal."

St. Louis made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 14:38 of the second after David Backes picked up a loose puck and set sail the other way up the right wing before shifting to his backhand and sending a perfect pass to Oshie, who put it past Sanford from the slot.

Pietrangelo capped the scoring with a power-play tally at 7:11 of the final stanza after he let one rip from the left circle that hit off traffic in front, popped up in the air and fell in behind Sanford.

Game Notes

With the victory, the Blues reached two franchise milestones tonight, they earned their 3,600th point and with two power-play goals, surpassed 2,700 power-play tallies all time...The Blues also tied the franchise record for most home wins in a season with 29, matching the total set by the 1980-81 Blues who captured the Presidents' Trophy that season...St. Louis is 12-1-1 in their last 14 home games and have outscored their opponents 40-16 over that span...The Blues went 2-for-6 with the man advantage, while Columbus failed to score on four power-play chances.