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Blues outlast Kings for third straight win

Jan 14, 2007 - 12:34 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Blues decided to fill up the fans for their game against the Los Angeles Kings. The teams proceeded to go out and fill up the nets.

Defenseman Dennis Wideman had a goal and two assists as six different Blues tallied en route to their third straight win, a 6-5 victory over the Kings.

Looking to capitalize on a recent streak of solid play, the Blues offered free food and drink to all fans from the moment the gates opened until the end of the second intermission. Chances are, if fans got up to take advantage of the offer, they likely missed a goal.

The game was tied at 2-2 after the first period and 4-4 in the second before Doug Weight beat goaltender Barry Brust to the stick side with a shot from the right faceoff circle with 95 seconds left in the middle session.

"It's great to have a full building," Weight said. "But once the game starts we're there to win it, to grind it out. We're not trying to put on a show, we're not trying to get a 6-5 game, that's not what we're talking about in here."

Wideman extended the lead to 6-4 just over 7 1/2 minutes into the third with a power-play goal. Weight slid a cross-ice pass to a wide-open Wideman, who one-timed it past netminder Yutaka Fukufuji, who made history by becoming the first Japanese-born player to appear in an NHL game when he replaced Brust for the third period.

Brust was removed after allowing five goals on 20 shots.

Fukufuji, 24, was called up by the Kings on Friday after Mathieu Garon went on injured reserve with a finger injury. Fukufuji was the first Japanese player to suit up for an NHL game against Dallas on December 16, when he served as Brust's backup.

The Kings, who began their three-game road trip with a third consecutive loss, pulled within 6-5 with 5:12 to go on a power-play tally by defenseman Rob Blake, his second tally of the contest.

Manny Legace made 27 saves for the Blues.

"It's a great feeling to get a win," Weight said. "It's great to get a win, the fans leave happy and hopefully that leads to more packed buildings down the road."

Blake scored 97 seconds into the second period with a one-timer from the right point, giving the Kings a 3-2 lead. But the Blues surged ahead as Keith Tkachuk shoveled in a feed by Wideman from the low slot at 4:01 and Lee Stempniak scored on a wrist shot from the top of the slot midway through the session.

Captain Mattias Norstrom tallied with 3:24 left in the period to forge a 4-4 tie.

The teams traded goals in the first period, with Michael Cammalleri and Tom Kostopoulos scoring for Los Angeles and Martin Rucinsky and Jay McClement tallying for St. Louis.