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Blues dominate Blue Jackets

Apr 4, 2011 - 12:17 AM Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Patrik Berglund tallied two goals while Alexander Steen posted a goal and an assist, as the St. Louis Blues beat the Central Division rival Columbus Blue Jackets, 6-1.

Andy McDonald, Carlo Colaiacovo and Chris Porter each lit the lamp for the Blues, who have won two of the last three but have already been eliminated from the playoffs. Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves in the win.

"I think we were really intelligent with our puck possession decisions," said St. Louis head coach Davis Payne. "Whether we had to separate ourselves from it or it was a drive or wide net drive opportunity. I thought that we made real solid decisions there and were committed to it from start to finish."

R.J. Umberger was the lone offense for the Blue Jackets, who have dropped three straight and also are not in playoff contention.

"Tonight we just looked like we had nothing in the tank and couldn't get anything going," Umberger said. "We just looked flat."

Blue Jackets goaltender Mathieu Garon was yanked after allowing four goals on 21 shots through two periods. David Leneveu started the third and finished with 10 saves on 12 shots.

Berglund scored first for St. Louis five minutes into the game as he collected his own rebound, weaved around a defender and sent a wrister past Garon.

The lead was extended to 2-0 on a tricky goal by Porter with 2:52 left in the period. Charging down the right boards, Porter went deep into the zone and backhanded a shot off of Garon's back and into the net.

Exactly two minutes later, the Blue Jackets got on the board while on the power play. Umberger jammed home the loose puck during a goalmouth scramble for his 25th goal.

The lead was pushed back to two on a second period power play for the Blues at the 2:20 mark. With just 13 seconds left in a Sami Lepisto tripping penalty, McDonald's wrister found the back of the net.

Berglund tallied his second goal of the game on some nifty stickhandling and then roofed a snap shot for a 4-1 lead with just 21 seconds left in the middle stanza.

The Blues cruised in the final frame as Steen scored with 4:18 left and Colaiacovo hammered home a shot with 45 seconds remaining to make up the final score.

Game Notes

The Blues took the season series, 4-2...Both teams were 1-for-2 on the power play...The Blue Jackets only had four shots in the third period...Vladimir Sobotka, Chris Stewart, and Matt D'Agostini each had two assists in the win.