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Elliott, Blues blank Avalanche

Jan 8, 2012 - 4:43 AM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Brian Elliott made 15 saves to post his fifth shutout of the season, blanking the red-hot Avalanche in a 4-0 victory to cap the Blues' perfect three-game homestand.

Patrik Berglund and Kevin Shattenkirk scored first-period goals while Jason Arnott and David Backes added power-play markers in the second stanza for St. Louis, which entered the homestand on a three-game skid.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere got the start between the pipes for Colorado and yielded all four goals on 39 shots.

Giguere and Semyon Varlamov split the starts during the Avalanche's recent 9-1 stretch, but the Blues got to the former early and often on Saturday.

"They certainly deserve a lot of credit for that win," Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco said. "They had fresh legs from the start."

T.J. Oshie stripped Kyle Quincey in front of Giguere and fed Berglund for a one-timer just 3:20 in, and Shattenkirk's point shot found its way through a slew of players at the 12:21 mark. Shattenkirk's tally came immediately after a Blues power play had ended.

Arnott's wrister 80 seconds into the second period made it 3-0, and Backes netted a rebound near the midway point.

Elliott needed to make just two saves in the first period, seven in the second and six in the third to seal the victory.

"It was pretty fun watching the guys do their jobs out there," Elliott said. "It was awesome seeing the guys play like they did. That's the type of game we want to play."

Game Notes

Elliott has 14 career shutouts....The Avalanche went 0-for-4 on the power play, while St. Louis cashed in of 2-of-5 chances with a man advantage...The Blues are 9-0-1 over their last 10 home games...Colorado still leads the season series, 2-1.