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Rucinsky, Legace help Blues defeat the Stars, end skid

Feb 4, 2007 - 6:01 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- After allowing at least five goals per game in their last three contests, the St. Louis Blues said enough was enough.

Martin Rucinsky scored early and Manny Legace posted his 17th career shutout as the Blues skated to a 2-0 victory over the Dallas Stars.

Keith Tkachuk added a power-play goal and Doug Weight added two assists for St. Louis, which snapped a three-game losing streak in which it was outscored, 16-8.

"For us to beat them tonight was gratifying," Blues coach Andy Murray said. "I thought our neutral-zone play was solid. They have so much speed that if you give them possession entries, they're difficult to contain. We made them chip pucks and didn't give them a lot of possession entries."

Rucinsky scored the only goal Legace needed at 6:11 of the first period. After a turnover at center ice, the Czech took a pass from Peter Sejna and skated in from the right side before beating All-Star goaltender Marty Turco to the glove side with a wrist shot for a 1-0 lead.

"I felt like I had Rucinsky's goal," Turco said. "It was a tough one to give up, especially the way the rest of the night went."

Legace made it stand, stopping six shots in the opening session and eight in each of the final two for his fourth shutout of the campaign.

"The guys just played unbelievably in front of me all night long," Legace said. "Tonight, we got some lucky breaks and the puck stayed out of the net. It's better to be lucky than good."

"We have a lot of confidence that Manny's going to make the first save all the time," Blues captain Dallas Drake said. "He's been outstanding. He's been our best player, in my opinion, all year."

Tkachuk sealed the victory midway through the third, converting a feed from All-Star Bill Guerin with 8:50 left for St. Louis, which scored just its second man-advantange goal in its last 25 opportunities.

The game also was marked by a total of 12 penalties, six each team. Included were four five-minute majors - two by Dallas rookie Krys Barch.

"Games with St. Louis are always hard games," Dallas coach Dave Tippett said. "It seems like our two teams come to compete, and you know, sometimes there are some physical battles."

Making his 21st consecutive start, Turco turned aside 17 shots for the Stars, who were shut out for the fourth time this season.

"Fatigue shouldn't be a factor," Turco said. "We had a day off yesterday. Maybe mentally, but physically it shouldn't be an issue or a reason why you lose games. We try to find ways to win, and it's disappointing that we didn't."