CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk had a career-high five assists, Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and three assists, and the Calgary Flames routed the St. Louis Blues 7-1 Monday night.
Tkachuk ended a four-game goal-scoring streak but was happy to spread the wealth. Four of his assists came in the second period, when Calgary outshot St. Louis 18-2.
“See a play, make a play. It’s pretty simple,” Tkachuk said. “Be around the net, try to have good hands in tight and whether it’s in the corner or on the walls, just look for my linemates and spread out the zone.”
Tkachuk has 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 13 career games against his hometown team.
Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev, Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan, Blake Coleman and Adam Ruzicka also scored for Calgary (19-12-6), which won for just the second time in seven games.
Tyler Bozak scored for St. Louis (25-12-5), which had won six of its previous seven.
Jacob Markstrom made 20 saves to earn the victory and improve to 14-9-5.
Jordan Binnington stopped 28 of 35 shots before being replaced by Ville Husso to start the third. Husso stopped all 13 shots he faced.
Gaudreau and Tkachuk have both been on a tear, combining for 24 points over the last five games. During their five-game point streaks, Gaudreau has 11 points (two goals, nine assists).
“Matthew’s got great vision when he’s got the puck,” coach Darryl Sutter said. “And playing on his off wing this year gives him a whole different dynamic of what he can see and what he can do and he’s making the most of it.”
Calgary went 2 for 5 on the power play against the Blues’ fourth-ranked penalty kill, which was a perfect 12 for 12 in the previous three games. St. Louis’s second-ranked power play went 0 for 2.
“Right from the get-go we were on our heels and just watching,” Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “Against a team like that, you just can’t do it. They took over the game. They dominated us from start to finish.”
NOTES: Flames D Erik Gudbranson had an assist in his 600th NHL game. ... The Blues continued an odd pattern of have a worse record when they score first (11-7-4) compared to when their opponent opens the scoring (14-5-1). ... Blues LW Pavel Buchnevich returned to the lineup after missing Sunday’s game due to COVID-19 protocol.
UP NEXT
Blues: Host Calgary on Thursday.
Flames: Play at Columbus on Wednesday.
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