• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Blues continue good start, beat Avalanche

Oct 13, 2007 - 3:11 AM By Tom James PA Sportsticker Contributing Writer

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Blues are off to their best start in nearly a decade.

The Blues scored three goals off rebounds en route to their third consecutive win, a 4-1 triumph over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

Dan Hinote scored twice and Brad Boyes and Jay McClement also tallied for St. Louis, which is 3-1-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign.

For the second straight game, Boyes refused to wait for his second shift to put the puck in the net.

After Paul Kariya beat the defense and managed to get a shot on net, Keith Tkachuk's rebound chance was denied. But Boyes was able to knock the puck past sliding goaltender Jose Theodore to give the Blues a 1-0 advantage just 74 seconds into the contest.

Boyes also scored on his opening shift in Wednesday's 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators, tallying just 54 seconds into the first period.

Kariya gave it right back to the Avalanche less than three minutes later. Paul Stastny's centering pass from the right corner hit the stick of the Blues' retreating left wing and flew past netminder Manny Legace at 4:03, tying the game at 1-1.

For Stastny, it was his fifth goal in Colorado's first four games.

Legace has been superb over the last two contests, as the only two goals he surrendered both were knocked in by a teammate. The eight-year veteran turned aside 22 of the 23 shots he faced on Friday.

After the Avalanche dominated a scoreless second period, the Blues scored goals 63 seconds apart early in the third.

McClement's second whack at a rebound of a wraparound effort by Lee Stempniak put St. Louis back on top at 4:57 of the final session. It was McClement's first goal of the season.

Hinote, who spent his first six seasons with Colorado, followed with his first goal of the night when he stuffed a loose puck inside the left goalpost at the six-minute mark to make it 3-1.

Hinote tallied again with 4:01 remaining in the game, taking a nice touch pass from David Perron - who was making his first NHL appearance after being selected 26th overall of the 2007 draft - and coverting.

Theodore, who was making his first start since undergoing knee surgery in the offseason, made 19 saves.