Blues 3, Canucks 0
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Troy Brouwer scored a second-period power-play goal and Brian Elliott stopped 19 shots for the shutout as the St. Louis Blues ended a two-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
Vladimir Tarasenko also had a goal for the Blues (42-22-9). Jaden Schwartz, who added an assist, scored into an empty net with 66 seconds left. Paul Stastny had two assists.
Elliott was making his first start since suffering a lower-body injury in a Feb. 22 game against San Jose. The shutout was his second of the season and 32nd of his career.
The Blues outshot the Canucks 50-19. Some big saves by Vancouver goaltender Ryan Miller was the only reason the score remained close.
The Blues had lost back-to-back games in Calgary and Edmonton, but they are 7-2-0 in their last nine.
The Canucks (27-32-12) were shut out for the second consecutive night. They have lost four games in a row and eight of their last 11. The last time Vancouver was shut out in consecutive games as Dec. 26-27, 1998.
The Canucks were also 0 of 3 on the power play, dropping them to 0 of 23 in the last seven games.
Tarasenko made it 2-0 at 11:54 of the third period. Schwartz took a shot that Miller stopped before Tarasenko scooped up the rebound and blasted it into the net for his 34th goal of the season and 100th of his career.
The Blues scored their first goal on their 34th shot of the night at 16:18 of the second period.
Stastny made a nice play at the blue line to get control of the puck, then hit a streaking Robby Fabbri, who drove to the net then dished the puck across the ice to Brouwer. With Miller out of the crease to challenge Fabbri, Brouwer had a wide-open net to notch his 15th goal of the season.
The Blues thought they had made it 2-0 late in the period when Brouwer put another shot past Miller. The goal was disallowed because the final seconds had ticked off the clock before the puck went into the net.
St. Louis outshot Vancouver 18-6 in the first period.
Miller made several big saves to keep his team in the game. He stopped Fabbri on a two-on-one breakaway and then made a diving pad save to deny Scottie Upshall, who was left alone in front of the net.
NOTES: LW Chris Higgins, recalled from the AHL Utica Comets, played his first NHL game since Jan. 9. ... Vancouver dressed seven rookies. ... RW Radim Vrbata missed the game after suffering a lower-body injury in Vancouver's 2-0 loss to Edmonton on Friday night. ... D Alex Biega returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for two games. ... D Chris Tanev (lower body) didn't dress. ... The Canucks open a three-game road trip Tuesday in Winnipeg. ... Blues G Jake Allen was 6-4-0 in the previous 10 games but allowed 13 goals in losses to Calgary and Edmonton. ... RW Ryan Reaves, a healthy scratch Wednesday, returned to the lineup. ... LW Magnus Paajarvi, G Andeers Nilsson and D Robert Bortuzzo were scratches. ... LW Alexander Steen (upper body) and C Steve Ott (hamstring) skated after practise Saturday. ... St. Louis' five-game road trip ends Tuesday in San Jose.