Not only the did the St. Louis Blues snap a three-game losing streak, but did it in one of the toughest buildings in the NHL where the Pittsburgh Penguins are nearly unbeatable. Carton Hutton made 34 saves and got some help from the posts and the Blues won 3-0 on Tuesday night. The Blues victory snapped a seven-game home win streak for the Penguins.
Colton Parayko, Ryan Reaves and Scottie Upshall scored to help the Blues end a three-game skid.. Hutton won for the third time in his last four starts and fifth in the last seven to improve to 7-6-2 this season. Meanwhile, starting goalie Jake Allen made the trip, but did not dress.
The reason it’s tough to play in Pittsburgh is that the Penguins score a lot at home, but the Penguins went 0 for 6 on the power play. On two occasions, they had Hutton beat, but hit the post. Pittsburgh was averaging a league-best 3.63 goals per game, and had scored at least four goals in four straight wins and at least five goals in three of those four victories.
“I think when we play with focus, we defend well,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “But when you’re chasing the game and you’re trying to crack it open, you lose all the little details. We’re not built like Pittsburgh. We’re not built like some of the other teams out here, like Washington. So, ours is just attention to defending detail and then all our offense flows from there. When you have a lead or you’re tied, you can do that.”
The Blues are at Minnesota on Thursday.