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Legace, Blues ruin Smyth's return

Feb 15, 2008 - 6:10 AM By Derek Nagy PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DENVER (Ticker) -- Manny Legace just can't get enough of the Colorado Avalanche.

Legace stopped 39 shots and David Backes recorded a goal and an assist as the St. Louis Blues snapped a four-game winless streak with a 4-1 triumph over the Avalanche on Thursday night.

Paul Kariya, Jay McClement and Ryan Johnson also scored for the Blues as Legace improved to 13-2-0 lifetime against the Avalanche.

"We played real solid for two periods," Blues coach Andy Murray said. "We knew they were going to come at us, and we crowded the net and they had some shots. But Manny was really good when we needed him."

The lone piece of good news for Colorado was the return of left wing Ryan Smyth, who had been out since December 31 with a fractured ankle. The veteran recorded five shots on goal but failed to score.

"Obviously, timing is a big thing," Smyth said. "You want to get that back as quick as you can, and the only way you can do that is to play games. It's a disappointing loss, that's the bottom line tonight."

While Legace excelled, it was a different story for counterpart Jose Theodore, who entered the contest with a 1.88 goals-against average in his previous 13 starts. The former Hart and Vezina Trophy winner allowed three goals on just seven shots before being pulled in favor of Peter Budaj.

Johnson's goal 95 seconds into the middle period spelled the end for Theodore.

"The timing was right, but it's obviously frustrating for me to be pulled," Theodore said.

A nifty shorthanded effort, Johnson got the puck in his own end and carried it up the ice against two defenders. He faked to the outside and brought the puck inside before firing a wrister from the slot that beat Theodore.

"It was a turnover and I had momentum going out," Johnson said. "I took a look and I knew it was a forward that was left back by himself. I had a ton of speed and decided to try it."

It was just the second shorthanded goal of the season for St. Louis.

The Blues got on the board quickly in the first period, when rookie defenseman Erik Johnson rifled a pass to the right circle that Kariya deflected perfectly. The puck went over Theodore's glove and into the net at 3:11 for a 1-0 lead.

It was the 15th goal of the season for Kariya, who has 16 points in his last 15 games.

McClement made it 2-0 just over seven minutes later, when he received a pass from behind the net by Dan Hinote and beat Theodore from the slot.

"We're getting there," McClement said. "We're going to have win games like that on the road. We have to learn how to play with the lead a little better, but we held on. We just have to try to learn from that."

Ben Guite spoiled Legace's shutout bid just over three minutes into the third. Defenseman Karlis Skrastins pounced on a turnover in the offensive zone and dished to Guite, who put a wrister over Legace's right shoulder from the slot at 3:03 for his eighth goal.

Backes completed the scoring with an empty-netter with 87 seconds remaining for St. Louis, which improved to 14-2-0 when leading after one period.