Fabbri, Tarasenko lead Blues over Devils 4-1 (Dec 09, 2016)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) Robby Fabbri has it pretty good with the St. Louis Blues.
The second-year left wing is on a line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Jori Lehtera. One is among the NHL's most renowned talents, and the other is a quality playmaker.
So what is Fabbri's role on the line?
''I'm just trying to do my part and fit in,'' he said.
Fabbri fit just fine Friday night. He scored twice, Tarasenko had three assists and the Blues beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1.
Tarasenko had eight of St. Louis' 32 shots on goal, while Ryan Reaves and Jaden Schwartz also scored for the Blues. St. Louis improved to 16-8-4 this season with just its fourth road win.
Jake Allen stopped 20 shots and won for the ninth time in 10 starts.
''We expect to see this every night,'' Blue coach Ken Hitchcock said. ''I think he's getting in a rhythm which is a really good sign for us.''
Keith Kinkaid had 28 saves for New Jersey, and PA Parenteau had a goal. The Devils dropped to 12-9-6 with their first regulation home loss. They've lost two straight by a combined 9-3 margin.
''We have to acknowledge what's taking place here and acknowledge why we haven't played well,'' Mike Cammalleri said.
Tarasenko entered with at least one point in St. Louis' last five road games. In those five games, the star had three goals and six assists. Overall, Tarasenko leads the Blues in goals (13), assists (18) and points (31).
''We're pretty lucky to have him on our side,'' Allen said.
Fabbri put St. Louis up 1:50 into the game, and Allen stopped 10 shots in the second period to hold the lead. The goalie was especially sharp on Miles Wood's attempt from close range 3:01 in and Beau Bennett's snap shot 46 seconds later.
Reaves made it 2-0 by deflecting Alex Pietrangelo's point shot, which appeared to going wide, 5:15 into the second for his first of the season.
Parenteau halved the lead 1:21 later by lifting a shot over Allen's glove hand, but Schwartz's tip-in on a 5-on-3 power play at 9:42 allowed the Blues to regain the two-goal lead.
''I thought we did a pretty good job,'' Devils captain Andy Greene said of the failed penalty kill. ''It's not like we had a chance to clear the puck and failed. We couldn't get it.''
Fabbri's second goal of the game with 8:36 left ended the scoring.
NOTES: New Jersey coach John Hynes declined pregame to comment on a report the NHL would not levy supplemental discipline against Canadiens goaltender Carey Price and Devils right wing Kyle Palmieri for their parts in a first-period fracas Thursday night. ... New Jersey scratched D Jon Merrill, C Jacob Josefson and C Pavel Zacha. ... D Carl Gunnarsson, RW Ty Rattie and RW Nail Yakupov were the Blues scratches. ... The game was the first of two between the clubs this season. The teams will finish the regular season series Dec. 15 at Scottrade Center.
UP NEXT:
Blues: Play at Minnesota on Sunday night.
Devils: Play at New York Rangers on Sunday night.
