ST. LOUIS _ With the team's forward group as close to full strength as is been in some time, there's been a trickle-down effect through the lineup which has found the fourth line.
The newly formed group of Zach Sanford, Ivan Barbashev and Alexander Steen teamed up for two goals, both by Barbashev, in the second period as the Blues beat Detroit 5-2 on Thursday night at Enterprise Center. Barbashev scored an empty-net goal with 48.5 seconds to play for his first NHL hat trick. The Blues also got goals from Oskar Sundqvist and Pat Maroon, who scored in his fourth straight game.
Barbashev now has 12 goals this season to give the Blues 11 players in double figures in goals, more than any team in the league. Maroon has nine and is on the brink.
It's the first time the Blues have had hat tricks in consecutive games since T.J. Oshie and David Backes did it in 2015. Jaden Schwartz had a hat trick against Edmonton on Tuesday.
Detroit cut the Blues' lead to 3-2 on a goal Thomas Vanek 8:48 into the third period, and it was another game where the Blues weren't playing their sharpest against a team that was at the bottom of the NHL standings. But 91 seconds after seeing the lead cut to one, the Blues put it back to two on Maroon's goal, as he reached out from the goal line to poke the puck between Detroit goalie Jonathan Bernier and the post
Barbashev got his first with 16:44 to go in the second period. Steen, who was without a point since Feb. 23, put a shot off the post, the Blues got the puck back. Vince Dunn took a shot that went off the end boards and Barbshev backhanded the carom over Bernier.
Five minutes later, Barbashev scored again. He got the puck with a hard hit on Michael Rasmussen along the boards, took a shot, got his own rebound and put it in.
The Blues have scored 10 goals in the past two games since getting Vladimir Tarasenko back in the lineup, and the top line of Tarasenko, Ryan O'Reilly and Brayden Schenn has had just one point _ a power-play assist by Schenn _ among those 10 goals. But the other three lines have come through.
The Red Wings haven't been pushovers, though, and are outshooting the Blues 15-14. Detroit had a power play and some good scoring chances, one of which was foiled by a nice glove save by Jordan Binnington. As the Blues' recent trip showed, an "easy" opponent can mean a tough game for the Blues.
Oskar Sundqvist scored his 14th goal of the season to get the Blues even in the first when he took a pass in the slot from Michael Del Zotto and beat goalie Jonathan Bernier with 8:14 to go in the period. Also getting an assist on the play was David Perron, who ran his personal point streak to 17 games, putting him alone in sole possession of the fourth longest point streak in Blues history. Next up is Phil Goyette at 19.
For Del Zotto, it was his third straight game with a point.
The Blues, as usual, didn't come out sizzling against Detroit, which had several scoring chances early and got on the board on a goal by Thomas Vanek 2:05 into the game when he whacked his second chance under Binnington's pad.
It's a busy night in the Western Conference, with Dallas, two points behind the Blues, hosting Colorado, and Winnipeg, Nashville and Arizona also in action.
