St. Louis Blues Nail Yakupov of Russia makes his first appearance as a member of the team, against the Minnesota Wild in the first period at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on October 13, 2016. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Nail Yakupov, the Russian forward acquired in a trade from Edmonton just before the season, scored a goal and added an assist as the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Thursday night.
The Blues start the season 2-0 after back-to-back wins over Central Division rivals.
Yakupov gave the Blues a 2-1 lead on a slap shot at 12:36 of the second period that Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk couldn’t handle.
Yakupov assisted on a Magnus Paajarvi goal finishing off a 3-on-2 rush.
Jake Allen won his second start in a row by making 18 saves.
Alexander Steen also scored for St. Louis. Patrik Berglund had two assists.
The Blues are back home Saturday to face the New York Rangers