In a way, Paul Stastny’s trajectory parallels that of his team, the St. Louis Blues: pretty good, yet at times wildly disappointing.
Both looked pretty promising on Monday, however, as Stastny scored four points to help St. Louis beat the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 5-2.
Stastny was involved in all three of the Blues’ third period goals as St. Louis overwhelmed Pittsburgh to turn a 2-2 tie into a 5-2 victory.
It’s plausible that the Penguins ran out of gas as they were closing off a back-to-back set. The Penguins generated a 31-17 shots on goal advantage through the first 40 minutes, yet Brian Elliott’s strong work helped keep it 2-2 going into the second intermission.
Hitchcock: "Elliott is taking advantage of a situation thrust upon him. His competitive level is as high as I've seen." #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 19, 2016
(No one could stop Evgeni Malkin or Vladimir Tarasenko on their goals, mind you.)
After that, the Blues pulled away, with an empty-netter inflating the margin of victory just a bit.
What’s next
Following a five-game losing streak, the Blues are now winners of four of their last five games.
Does this mean they’ve turned the corner? Perhaps we’ll get a better idea based on how St. Louis handles a challenging four-game road trip.
Meanwhile, the Penguins remain a work in progress, even if their hard work is showing more often with Mike Sullivan behind the bench.