The St. Louis Blues are working on another late-season surge.
Paul Kariya scored twice, combining with Brad Boyes for a pair of goals during a 17-second span of the first period, and the Blues extended their winning streak to a season-best five games with a 6-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
Alexander Steen, Patrik Berglund and T.J. Oshie added goals for the Blues, who've scored 23 goals during the five-game stretch.
Last season, the Blues closed with a 9-4-1 surge to earn a playoff spot.
"I'm new to the situation, but I'm aware of what happened last year," said coach Davis Payne, who took over for the fired Andy Murray on Jan. 2. "This is a new (season). We know exactly what we have to do and it's good for us to have that type of experience to know it's possible."
Chris Mason made 29 saves for the Blues, who boosted their road record to 18-9-4 in the matchup of teams attempting to climb into the Western Conference's top eight.
St. Louis has 69 points - one more than Dallas - and the Blues pulled even with Calgary at No. 9. Detroit holds the conference's No. 8 spot with 70 points.
I swear, it must be possibile for an entire team, made up as it is with players who are varying points in their personal careers, to collectively go through a sophomore slump. The entire first half of the season just had that feel. They didn't totally suck for extended stretches, but they never got it going either. And, it wasn't the sort of thing you could pin on only a couple players. Everyone underwhelmed, from Kariya & Tkachuk to Backes, Oshie and Berglund. Hell, even reliable players like Andy McDonald were just okay.
Now, however, everything looks different. I've seen the last couple of games (thank you free week of NHL Center Ice!), and, my God, are we playing well. We have four lines we can throw out there regularly. I keep watching them and saying to myself, "So, that's what that looks like. Huh. I'd forgotten." The D is doing what it has to, and EJ is growing by leaps and bounds out there. Mason, who didn't impress in the first couple of months, is now on top of his game. The role players are filling in their niches admirably. Hell, even the spare part they picked up, D'Agostini, looks like he should fit in well.
I have nothing to complain about for a change.
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