Blues defeat Jets, move within two points of Central Division lead

WINNIPEG -- Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals, and the St. Louis Blues pulled within two points of the Central Division lead with a 5-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Friday.
The Blues are in third place with 71 points, two behind the Jets and Nashville Predators.

"I think it was a really good effort with Colorado a 6-1 win Thursday] and especially tonight in this building," Tarasenko said. "It's maybe one of the hardest buildings in the League to play and we're really happy to get a win today."
***[WATCH: [All Blues vs. Jets highlights]*
Jets forward Mark Scheifele returned after missing 16 games with an upper-body injury sustained in a 4-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 27. He played 23:32, had one shot on goal and was minus-1.
"Obviously the main thing is it [stinks] we lost," Scheifele said. "Had to shake off a little bit of rust early, but felt better and better as the game went on and got more comfortable."

Patrik Berglund, Alexander Steen and Jaden Schwartz also scored for the Blues (34-20-3), who scored three goals in 7:21 in the second period. Jake Allen made 20 saves.
Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine scored for the Jets (32-14-9), who lost for the first time in regulation in their past 11 home games (9-1-1), dating to a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 14. Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves.
"They came out and looked ready to go," Jets forward Blake Wheeler said. "They played a game last night, we were all going to bed when they were getting on a plane to leave St. Louis. The fact they come into our building and have more energy than us is a little bit concerning."
Tarasenko made it 1-0 at 4:18 of the second period -- his first goal in seven games -- on a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Hellebuyck high on his blocker side.
Berglund deflected a pass from Robert Bortuzzo in the high slot to make it 2-0 at 10:13, and Steen scored 1:26 later to make it 3-0 with his 12th off a rebound.

"Our biggest challenge was us," Jets defenseman Tyler Myers said. "It wasn't them. We just didn't come to play tonight. We'll have a short memory on that one, come back tomorrow and get to work. Get ready for the next game."
Connor pulled the Jets within 3-1 at 17:33, his one-timer hitting Blues defenseman Vince Dunn in front before going past Allen.
Laine scored his 25th -- and 14th on the power play -- at 11:39 of the third period to make it 3-2.
"He shoots the puck harder than anyone in the League," Allen said. "I'd put him up there against anyone. It's not even close. It was sort of through a few bodies so I didn't really get a good pick-up on it, but still he's got the laser."
Tarasenko scored 1:06 later for a 4-2 lead, and Schwartz scored into an empty net with three seconds remaining to make it 5-2.

Goal of the game

Tarasenko's second of the game, at 12:45 of the third period.

Save of the game

Allen's save on Laine's wrist shot at 8:30 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Laine's power-play goal at 11:39 of the third period.

They said it

"I know they're ahead of us in the standings and they're a great hockey team, but it was a good response, especially when it's on probably one of the toughest back-to-backs we'll have all year. Late night, early morning. It was really good to see from my end what the guys were doing out there." -- Blues goalie Jake Allen
"We're [not going to take] a hard look at it like we did after the last two losses we had at home. It hasn't been an accountability issue in here, we've played pretty darn well at home. We were horse [crap] tonight. That's a technical term for our game. Nobody is in a good mood and you're angry with it. You don't like to get beat like that. We got beat in St. Louis and played one hell of a game. We weren't any good tonight and didn't deserve to win the game." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice

Need to know

Steen has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past 11 games. … Connor has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games. … The Blues played without defenseman Joel Edmundson, who had surgery to repair a broken forearm sustained in a 6-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

What's next

Blues:Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday (12 p.m. ET; NBC, TVAS, NHL.TV)
Jets:Host the New York Rangers on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN3, MSG+, NHL.TV)