Blues score 4 straight in 1st, pull away from Ducks

ST. LOUIS -- Robert Thomas had two goals for the St. Louis Blues, who scored four straight times in the first period of a 6-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Enterprise Center on Thursday.

Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich each had a goal and an assist for the Blues (20-19-4), who had lost two straight and three of five. Joel Hofer made 21 saves for his sixth win in the past eight starts (6-1-1).

“We’ve got to continue to build off it,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. “We’ll enjoy this for a little while here and then we’ll get back to work tomorrow in anticipation for Saturday (against the Columbus Blue Jackets).”

Cam Fowler had an assist in his first game against his former team after St. Louis acquired the defenseman in a trade with Anaheim on Dec. 14.

Nikita Nesterenko and Sam Colangelo scored for the Ducks (17-19-5), who had won four of six (4-1-1). Lukas Dostal was pulled after allowing six goals on 22 shots. John Gibson stopped all 12 shots he faced in relief.

“We didn’t show up,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. “We had no jump, we had no response. St. Louis played it like a playoff game, and we just were flat.”

The Blues scored three times in a span of 3:55 early in the first period.

Thomas gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead at 2:45, scoring off Jacob Trouba’s giveaway in the slot.

Tyler Tucker’s first goal of the season made it 2-0 at 4:31, a shot from the right point.

Kyrou then extended it to 3-0 at 6:40 on the Blues’ eighth shot, driving the net and finishing off Fowler’s flip shot.

At that point, the Ducks had not recorded a shot on goal.

“I liked our intensity,” Montgomery said. “I liked our execution, and I liked how hard we were offensively.”

Dylan Holloway pushed it to 4-0 at 13:55, a wrist shot near the left hash marks, after Kyrou’s pass from behind the net.

“I feel like we have good efforts from all four lines,” Holloway said. “Guys are buzzing out there and making plays. I think we’ve been really good.”

Nesterenko cut it to 4-1 at 16:00 when he tipped in Jackson LaCombe’s wrist shot from the top of the left circle. It was his third NHL goal -- all against St. Louis.

Thomas’ second goal of the game made it 5-1 at 4:45 of the second period, scoring on the rebound after Dostal stopped his initial shot.

Buchnevich extended it to 6-1 at 8:02, prompting Dostal to be pulled.

Colangelo made it 6-2 at 14:38 on a wrist shot short side from the right circle for his second NHL goal.

“I think we didn’t come out ready to play,” Colangelo said. “When you get down by a couple goals that early, it’s really hard to win a hockey game. I was 1-on-1 with the goalie and I beat him. [Ryan] Strome made a [heck of a] play to get it to me.”

NOTES: Holloway has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his past eight games after having none in the previous six. … Buchnevich has six points (two goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak. … Blues forward Brandon Saad had an assist and played 11:49 in his 900th NHL game. … St. Louis forward Radek Faksa played 15:38 and won seven of 10 face-offs after missing the past seven games and 12 of the past 13 with a lower-body injury. … Strome had an assist on Colangelo’s goal for his 300th in the NHL.