Blues power past Blue Jackets

St. Louis defeats Columbus on back-to-back nights.

By R.B. Fallstrom ~ The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Martin Rucinsky and Cory Stillman scored power-play goals against the NHL's best penalty-kill unit as the St. Louis Blues beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Sunday night.

The Blues beat the Blue Jackets for the second straight night, following a 6-1 victory at Columbus on Saturday, and won their fourth straight overall. The Blues were 2-for-4 with the man-advantage against the Blue Jackets, who had killed 89 percent of opponents' power plays coming in.

Geoff Sanderson had both goals for the Blue Jackets, who have lost five in a row.

Sanderson also had Columbus' lone goal Saturday as the Blues ran away with a four-goal third period.

The Blues had a 15-4 shots advantage in the second period, and finally cashed in on Rucinsky's goal for a 3-2 lead at 17:18 when he scored on a one-timer off a setup from Alexander Khavanov.

Goalie Brent Johnson made a poke check on a break-in by Hannes Hyvonen at 5:15 of the third before Pavol Demitra gave the Blues a two-goal lead on a rebound at 6:10. St. Louis' fourth line tacked on an insurance goal as Tyson Nash got his third -- and second in as many games -- on a rush at 12:30.

Sanderson scored his 18th and 19th goals and had four shots in a 2-2 first period. He scored on a short-handed breakaway at 6:45 for the game's first goal, and tied it at 2 with a backhand rebound while tumbling into the net at 17:24.

The Blues scored twice in a span of 51 seconds in the first. Stillman, who has a goal and four assists in five games against the Blue Jackets, scored his 14th on a power play at 7:28. Mellanby got his 15th, tying his total from last season, when he beat Marc Denis on a backhand wraparound at 8:19.

Columbus was 0-for-6 on the power play and is 1-for-36 the last nine games.

Notes: Blue Jackets C Andrew Cassels missed his third straight game with a hyperextended elbow. Cassels has 32 points in his last 29 games. ... Mellanby has a four-game goal streak. ... The Blues have outscored their opponents 19-5 during the winning streak. ... The Blue Jackets have been outscored 19-6 during their losing streak. ... The Blue Jackets have eight short-handed goals, second-most in the NHL.