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Blues edge Devils in battle of red-hot teams

Brian Elliott, Ilya Kovalchuk

St. Louis Blues’ Brian Elliott, right, makes a save on a shootout shot by New Jersey Devils’ Ilya Kovalchuk, of Russia, during an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, in Newark, N.J. The Blues won 4-3, snapping the Devils’ five-game winning streak. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

AP

The New Jersey Devils came into tonight as easily one of the hottest teams in the NHL, but they fell short against what might be the absolute hottest. Ken Hitchcock’s St. Louis Blues edged the Devils 4-3 in the shootout to win what many will call a “statement game” - at least for New Jersey.

One interesting mini-plot is that Brian Elliott came in relief of Jaroslav Halak to win the game after Halak allowed three goals on 12 shots in about 29 minutes of work. Elliott came off what must have been an emotional win against his former team in the Ottawa Senators, so he might be building momentum once again. (Perhaps I was hasty when I wondered if Halak was in the process of making Elliott “an All-Star backup” then?)

Either way, it doesn’t hurt to have two netminders who can carry the mail - especially when you have a roster as strong as St. Louis has in front of them. The Devils got a taste of that tonight.