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Kariya, Boyes help Blues honor MacInnis in winning fashion

Nov 17, 2007 - 6:21 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Paul Kariya and Brad Boyes helped the St. Louis Blues honor Hall of Famer Al MacInnis with a win.

Boyes scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period on an assist from Kariya as the Blues posted a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.

The tandem also provided the Blues' first goal, with Boyes setting up Kariya for a first-period tally.

Manny Legace stopped 28 shots for St. Louis, which has won two straight after a three-game skid.

Prior to the game, the Blues held a ceremony honoring MacInnis, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday.

"The Hall of Fame is something not too many guys get to do," Boyes said. "The least we could do was get the win on his big night."

A 12-time All-Star, MacInnis saw his 23-year career come to an end just three games into the 2003-04 season due to an eye injury. He spent 10 years with St. Louis and finished third among defensemen in scoring with 1,274 points.

The Blues, who entered the contest last in the Western Conference with 39 goals, may have been inspired by the ceremonies for the former Conn Smythe and Norris Trophy winner.

St. Louis, which was outscored, 6-0, in a pair of losses at Columbus earlier this season, took advantage of a defensive lapse to net the game-winner.

Sergei Fedorov turned over the puck to Kariya behind the Blue Jackets' net after some forechecking by defenseman Bryce Salvador. Kariya sent a pass to Boyes, who fired a wrist shot from the low slot past goaltender Fredrik Norrena for a 2-1 lead with 2:27 remaining.

It was Boyes' team-leading 10th goal, and his ninth in nine games at home.

"We made eye contact a little, and when I got his attention, he popped it out to me," Boyes said of the play with Kariya. "That's why he makes the big bucks. It topped off a great night."

"Sergei made a mistake with players around who make things happen," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said.

Jamal Mayers added an empty-net tally in the final minute before Rick Nash cut Columbus' deficit to 3-2 with six seconds left.

Columbus trailed, 1-0, after two periods but tied the game at 5:19 of the third thanks to some help from St. Louis rookie defenseman Erik Johnson.

Nikolai Zherdev skated around the net and sent a pass to Curtis Glencross on the right side. Meanwhile, Johnson went around the net from the left side and tilted it up with his right arm.

Glencross' shot slid through the bottom of the lifted net, and after a review, was credited with his second goal of the season, knotting the contest at 1-1.

"(The net) was not off its moorings, and we knew it was going to count," St. Louis coach Andy Murray said of the tally.

Kariya opened the scoring with his fourth tally of the season with 77 seconds remaining in the first.

After the Blues won a faceoff in the offensive zone, Kariya steered Boyes' centering pass from the left faceoff circle past Norrena and inside the right goalpost.

Norrena stopped 20 shots for Columbus, which has lost four of six and went 0-for-6 with the man advantage.

Columbus failed to convert during a 96-second, 5-on-3 power play that took place approximately four minutes before St. Louis snapped the 1-1 tie, drawing the ire of Nash.

"We must score in that situation," the former Maurice Richard Trophy winner said. "It is as simple as that. We need to start scoring on the power play, and now. We can be very good if we do what we should."