Carter Hutton, Blues shut out Penguins

PITTSBURGH-- Carter Hutton made 34 saves for the St. Louis Blues to shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
Hutton rebounded from allowing three goals on eight shots in a 7-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday. The shutout was his sixth in five NHL seasons.
"It's a big win. Tough building to play in," Hutton said. "We obviously knew we had our hands full coming in. I thought we did a great job all night. I think we took too many penalties, obviously something we don't want to get in the habit of, especially against a team like that. That said, our [penalty kill] did a great job, so that's something to build on."

The Blues killed each of the Penguins' six power plays.
WATCH: All Blues vs. Penguins highlights
St. Louis (24-19-5) ended a three-game losing streak and kept Pittsburgh (30-12-5) from winning a fifth straight.
"We seem to be playing a more complete game on the road," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We play with a more compact game. And I just think getting the lead just sets the table for the way we play. I think it makes us more comfortable. The closer the game is, tied or us with the lead, our structure really seems in place. It's a good sign."
The Penguins lost in regulation at home for the first time since Nov. 21 (5-2 to the New York Rangers). They are 20-3-2 here.

"I just thought it was a night where it was a struggle for our team," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "It was one of those nights where I don't think we had a lot of jump. As a result, we didn't execute as well."
The Blues took a 1-0 lead on Parayko's power-play goal with 5:44 remaining in the first period. After Chad Ruhwedel was called for high-sticking Parayko, David Perron slid a pass to the defenseman before he glided to the top of the left circle. Parayko took a slap shot past Olli Maatta and through Matt Murray's five-hole for his third goal of the season. Parayko has three goals in his past eight games after failing to score in his first 40.

Nick Bonino almost gave the Penguins the lead when he received a pass from Conor Sheary and hit the right post at 3:12.
Ryan Reaves extended the lead to 2-0 with 4:17 remaining in the second period, and Scottie Upshall made it 3-0 with 5:27 left in the third.
Before Reaves' goal, Sidney Crosby had a chance to tie it at 3:26. He took a slap shot through a clear lane but couldn't get it past Hutton.
Murray had 25 saves making his fifth consecutive start. He had allowed one goal in each of his previous three.
"They played really solid through the neutral zone," Murray said. "I don't think we got too many scoring chances tonight, to be honest. … That's kind of how their team plays. They're known for that."

Goal of the game

After Kevin Shattenkirk backhanded the puck up the far wall, Reaves blew by Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz and held him off while charging toward Murray. Reaves flicked a shot off Murray for his third goal of the season.

Save of the game

Before Parayko scored, he almost gave St. Louis the lead. After Patrik Berglund shot on Murray, Parayko collected the rebound and took a point-blank shot from outside the crease. Murray made a left-pad save with 7:33 remaining.

Highlight of the game

Evgeni Malkin almost made it 2-1 on a power play early in the third period when he shot through two Blues and off the left post. It was the second time the Penguins hit the post on a power play.

Unsung performance of the game

Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and forward Paul Stastny each helped Hutton earn his shutout by sacrificing his body. Pietrangelo led St. Louis with four blocks and Stastny blocked three.

They said it

"Obviously, this month hasn't been going as well as we've wanted. It's kind of been a real tough month, so to get a win, especially on the road against a really good team, it's a jump-start." -- Blues forward Ryan Reaves
"I think the power play definitely didn't help us. We struggled there, and to get that many opportunities and not generate a whole lot I think probably was a big difference in the game." -- Penguins forward Sidney Crosby

Need to know

Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin played 14:53 after missing 10 games with a broken jaw sustained Dec. 27 against the New Jersey Devils. … Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester played 24:44 after sitting out one game with a lower-body injury. … Pheonix Copley was the backup to Hutton with Jake Allen scratched.

What's next

Blues: At the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)
Penguins: At the Boston Bruins on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, NESN, ROOT, NHL.TV)