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Winchester's Goal Lifts Blues Over Devils

ST. LOUIS (AP) Brad Winchester scored the winning goal 5:15 in the third period and Jaroslav Halak stopped 35 shots to lift the St. Louis Blues to a 3-2 victory over the slumping New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.

Alex Pietrangelo and Eric Brewer also scored and Matt D'Agostini had two assists for the Blues, who won their 12th in a row over an Eastern Conference opponent - including 7-0 this season.

David Clarkson and Mattias Tedenby scored for the Devils, who dropped their third in a row. New Jersey (5-13-2) is only one point above the New York Islanders, who are last in the East. Mike McKenna made 24 saves in place of injured No. 1 goalie Martin Brodeur.

Winchester deflected Tyson Strachan's shot from the right point past McKenna, a native of St. Louis who made his Devils debut after being recalled on Friday.

The Devils outshot the Blues 37-27.

Clarkson gave the Devils a 1-0 lead just 26 seconds in with a wrister from the left circle that hit Halak's glove and squirted behind the goal line on the game's first shot.

The Blues tied it at 9:22 on Pietrangelo's first of the season and second of his NHL career. With the Blues on a power play, several players were in a pile in front of McKenna. Pietrangelo came in and swept in the loose puck with a backhander.

The Devils regained the lead when Patrik Elias picked off Jay McClement's errant pass and sent Tedenby in on a breakaway. Tedenby roofed a backhanded shot over Halak to make it 2-1 9:53 into the second.

But the Blues, outplayed through two periods and outshot 27-16, took advantage of a fortunate break and tied the game. Brewer's shot from the blue line took a fortuitous bounce off the end boards, caromed back into the crease, and went in off McKenna's backside with 1:02 to play in the period.

NOTES: Brodeur had an MRI taken on his right elbow Friday which came back negative. Brodeur has a bruised elbow. He will rest for four or five days, and could be out for two weeks. ... Elias skated in his 900th NHL game. ... Blues C David Backes has a six-game point streak. LW Andy McDonald and C Patrik Berglund had five-game point streaks snapped. ... McDonald, Backes and Brad Boyes have 21 points in the last five games, including two points against the Devils. ... The Blues were without D Barret Jackman (knee), D Roman Polak (wrist), LW David Perron (concussion) and RW T.J. Oshie (broken ankle). ... Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner (sore neck) missed his fourth straight game

© 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

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