With 16 goals in their last three games, the St. Louis Blues are developing some offensive firepower to go along with the improved defense under new coach Andy Murray.
They ran up a 5-0 lead on the Western Conference-leading Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday before finishing off a 6-2 victory.
The Ducks lead the NHL with 68 points.
The Blues scored three times on 14 shots against starting goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who was making his seventh straight start while Jean-Sebastien Giguere recovers from a groin injury.
Blues goalie Curtis Sanford, making his first start since a groin injury Dec.
1, finished with 30 saves after getting staked to a 5-0 lead. Manny Legace got the night off after starting 15 consecutive games.
"We were opportunistic tonight and we caught them on not one of their better nights," Murray said.
"This league is all about timing and scheduling and when you play teams and what their roster looks like. But, even with that, we took advantage of the chances we had."
The Blues, who missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 1979 and had the league's worst record, are 10-4-4 since Murray replaced Mike Kitchen as coach on Dec.
11.
They have earned points in nine of their last 10 games and are 3-0-1 in their last four on the road.
"Every time we lace up the skates, we're expecting to get two points," Blues center Doug Weight said.
"It's a good feeling. We haven't had that in a while in this locker room. We've got a lot of character in this room and a lot of belief that we can be a playoff team.
We've dug ourselves quite a hole, but we're on the right path."
Tonight, Murray will return to Staples Center in Los Angeles for the first time since he was fired as Kings coach on March 31.
The Blues play the Kings at 9:30 p.
m.
"It's obviously more than just the next game," Murray said. "You can't spend the best seven years of your life in one organization and be around that long and not care.
I loved every minute of being with the Kings, so it's going to be special going in there, for sure. But I won't make any difference in the hockey game. It'll be these guys.
"
The win over Anaheim marked the second time in three games the Blues had matched their season-high goal total. They also edged Los Angeles 6-5 on Saturday and are getting across-the-board production rather than from two or three players.
Defenseman Eric Brewer had a goal and two assists for the Blues, who ended a five-game losing streak against the Ducks.
Weight, Petr Cajanek and Keith Tkachuk also scored goals, while Radek Dvorak had three assists and Jamal Mayers scored a short-handed tally to cap a dominant four-goal second period. Dallas Drake added a late empty-net goal.
A main part of the Blues' game plan was keeping the puck away from Ducks all-star defenseman Scott Niedermayer.
Niedermayer, trying to pick up the slack defensively until fellow Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger returns from a broken foot, was on the ice for all six Blues goals.
"It's probably just one of those nights for Nieds," Weight said. "But he's what we based our whole game plan around -- trying to keep the puck away from him and trying to make sure we're making him skate as much as possible.
Most teams try to put the puck in his corner, make him go get it and then hit him. But we don't want him even touching it."
Tkachuk chased Bryzgalov to the bench with a 55-foot one-timer that beat the Ducks' beleaguered goalie high to the glove side and gave the Blues a 4-0 cushion.
The goal was Tkachuk's seventh in 10 games and 15th this season. It also matched last season's total, when he missed 41 games because of assorted injuries -- including five weeks with cracked ribs.
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