(AP) - Jaroslav Halak got the shutout in his first game back in Montreal and the St. Louis Blues extended their winning streak to four with a 3-0 victory over the Canadiens on Tuesday night. David Backes and Chris Stewart each had a goal and an assist, and Jason Arnott also scored for St. Louis, which got a shutout from Brian Elliott in a 4-0 win at Colorado on Saturday night. Halak, who was traded by Montreal to the Blues on June 10, 2010, made 19 saves for his second shutout of the season. The Slovakian goalie denied former teammate Tomas Plekanec on a short-handed breakaway early in the first. He made a sprawling glove save on Mathieu Darche in the third. It was his 18th career shutout.
(AP) - Viktor Stalberg scored three goals for his first NHL hat trick and the Chicago Blackhawks beat Columbus 5-2 on Tuesday night to end a season-high four-game losing streak and spoil the debut of interim Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards. Dave Bolland and rookie Ben Smith also scored for Chicago. R.J. Umberger and Antoine Vermette had goals for Columbus, which lost its second straight and is 2-9-1 in its last 12. Richards replaced Scott Arniel, who was fired on Monday. The Blue Jackets are 11-26-5, the worst record in the NHL and their worst start since entering the league in 2000-01. Corey Crawford made 32 saves for Chicago and Stalberg snapped a six-game streak without a point.
