The Blues achieved something they haven't done all season, winning their third game in a row by beating the Washington Capitals 4-1 at Capital One Arena in Washington on Monday night.
It was the Blues' fifth try at winning three in a row and they finally got it, by defeating the defending Stanley Cup champions for the second time in two weeks. The Blues were the last team in the NHL to have a three-game win streak. The team also reached .500 for the first time since Nov. 11 and has won four straight on the road. The Blues are three points out of the second wild-card spot in the West.
"We're gaining confidence game to game," interim coach Craig Berube said. "We feel good about each other, we're working for each other. That's the key, putting the team first."
Vladimir Tarasenko sealed the win with a third period power-play goal after the Blues scored three goals in 4 minutes, 42 seconds in the second period to grab a 3-1 lead.
Ivan Barbashev started the scoring, followed by a goal by Vince Dunn and then another by David Perron, who extended his point streak to 11 games, the longest streak by a Blue since Alexander Steen had a 13-game point streak in 2013.
Dunn also had an assist, setting up Perron's goal with a pass on a Capitals line change that sprung the forward for a breakaway against former Blues goalie Pheonix Copley. Perron went forehand, backhand and flipped it past Copley.
It was the 16th goal for the season for Perron, tying him with Ryan O'Reilly for the team lead and surpassing his goal total of last season of 15 in 70 games. In his last season with the Blues, 2016-17, Perron had 18 goals.
Tarasenko and Dunn each had a goal and an assist, while O'Reilly had two assists. Tarasenko's goal, which came after O'Reilly won a puck battle behind the Capitals' goal, was his 15th of the season and his eighth on the power play. He has three goals in the past two games.
The Blues have power-play goals in three straight games, the first time they've done that since the end of November.
The Blues went with Jake Allen in goal after two straight starts for Jordan Binnington. Allen was in goal for the Blues in a 5-2 win over the Capitals on Jan. 3 at Enterprise Center and had lost both of his starts since then while Binnington had won three in a row. This is the first of back-to-back games for the Blues, so Binnington is likely to go on Tuesday vs. the Islanders in Brooklyn. Allen stopped 28 of 29 shots he faced.
"It's great to have two guys going," Berube said. "This league's tough and you need two goalies going. It's very important."
The Blues have been solid defensively in their streak, allowing one goal in each of the past three games and six goals in the past five games.
Alex Ovechkin had the goal for the Capitals in the first period on a power play. It was his 17th goal in 19 games against the Blues.
"They play good road hockey," interim coach Craig Berube said. "We we're not too cute, we do things properly, we play north hockey, work teams in the offensive zone. That's our game."
