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Backes scores twice to lift slumbering Blues offense

Feb 19, 2007 - 4:45 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- As far as the Minnesota Wild were concerned, the St. Louis Blues picked an inopportune time to break out of a home scoring drought.

David Backes tallied twice, including once during a three-goal second period, as the Blues posted a 5-3 victory over the streaking Minnesota Wild.

Jamal Mayers scored and Lee Stempniak added two assists for St. Louis, which had scored just one goal in three of its last four home games.

"It was great to see them pull it together," St. Louis coach Andy Murray said. "You have to do that in this league because things happen."

The Wild, winners of six of their last eight contests, entered just one point behind Northwest Division co-leaders Vancouver and Calgary and looked like they were on a verge of a comeback after Adam Hall and Marian Gaborik tallied in the last six minutes of the first period to tie the contest at 2-2.

"To come out of it 2-2, it was kind of gloomy," Blues goaltender Manny Legace said. "Did (we) ever come out and respond."

Indeed, the Blues came out swarming after the intermission. Jay McClement scored his sixth goal of the season at 5:01 when his shot off the left post hit goaltender Niklas Backstrom's right skate and went in.

Backes completed his second two-goal outing in his last three with his sixth of the season for a 4-2 edge 2:39 later. The center cut in from the right faceoff circle and drove home the rebound off a shot by Stempniak from the top of the right circle.

"I'm getting a little more confidence, realizing if I get the puck anywhere near the net, if I shoot it's got a chance to go in," Backes said. It's awesome."

Keith Tkachuk provided some insurance with his 20th of the campaign with 3:23 left in the stanza. Barret Jackman's drive from the left point was stopped by Backstrom, but Ryan Johnson managed to poke the puck through the goaltender's legs, and Tkachuk, slashing in backside, touched the puck into the gaping net.

"I can't remember the last time I let a puck get poked through my legs quite like that one," Backstrom said.

Former Blue Pavol Demitra capped the scoring with his 18th of the season with 3:10 left. Gaborik has eight goals and six assists in his last nine games and Demitra has seven goals and eight assists during a season-high nine-game point streak.

Legace stopped 31 shots to improve to 8-3 with a 2.80 goals-against average all-time vs. Minnesota.

Backstrom stopped 21 shots before being relieved after the second period for the Wild, who outshot the Blues, 36-30.

"He played so good lately for us and I felt we didn't give him support at all," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "There were a lot of scrambles in front of the net and our defensemen, some of them, were not sharp."