Varlamov cools Blues

ST. LOUIS -- The Washington Capitals discovered Jaroslav Halak is not perfect after all.

Semyon Varlamov made 37 saves for his fourth straight win since recovering from a groin injury, and the Capitals got back at the goalie who knocked them out of the playoffs last spring with a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

"It's always good," Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom said. "I mean, he destroyed our plans."

Backstrom had two goals, one of them into an empty net, and an assist to help NHL-leading Washington push its points total to 38. Brooks Laich and Boyd Gordon also scored for the Capitals.

They had been 0-7-1 in St. Louis since their last victory Oct. 26, 1996, when Jason Allison scored twice against Grant Fuhr in a 6-4 final. Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said he brought that up last season and the Capitals lost in a shootout.

"So I said I'm never bringing that up again," Boudreau said. "Not that I'm superstitious or anything."

Boudreau said he never mentioned Halak's name to players, either.

"We didn't have it on the board," the coach said. "We didn't care who was in the net. Last year was last year and we're just looking forward to hopefully the rest of this year and see where it leads."

The Capitals got a goal in each period against Halak, who bedeviled them during heavy underdog Montreal's first-round upset of the overall No. 1 seed last spring. Halak allowed one goal in each of the final three games of the series, facing a total of 131 shots.

Halak, who got a four-year contract with St. Louis after a summer trade, is 2-6-1 in his last nine starts. His misplay gave the Capitals a two-goal lead.

"They capitalized on a few chances," Blues forward David Backes said. "I don't know if they really earned their goals."

The Blues were the last NHL team to lose in regulation at home but have lost consecutive games in a four-day span to fall to 8-2-1. Their perfect 7-0 start against Eastern Conference opponents also ended, and they've dropped four in a row overall.

St. Louis is 0 for 16 on the power play over the last five games and struggled against the Capitals' pressure.

"We play them about once every century, so I couldn't tell if they usually do that," Backes said. "I don't know if they saw something they wanted to exploit or that's the way they're always playing, but it was pretty effective."