Hutton earns first star in his St. Louis debut

After defeating two Central Division rivals, the St. Louis Blues defended their perfect record with Carter Hutton in net.

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
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The Blues struck first.

Colton Parayko's blocked shot sent the puck toward center-ice, where he tipped it past a Ranger's defensemen to Vladimir Tarasenko. Vlad put the puck past Henrik Lundquist to give the Blues a 1-0 lead early in the first period.

"He made a breakaway for me," said Tarasenko. "It was a great play by (Parayko)."

Chris Kreider of the Rangers tied the game up 5:25 into the first.

Toward the end of the period, Lundquist's save on Robby Fabbri left the puck sitting in the crease, where Paul Stastny punched it in to give the Blues a 2-1 lead. 

After twenty minutes of play, the Blues outshot the Rangers 11 to 8.

Captain Alex Pietrangelo wristed one over Lundquist's right pad after receiving a pass from Stastny—who earned his fourth point of the season. Pietrangelo's goal gave the Blues a 3-1 lead 2:28 into the second period.

However, it didn't take long for the Rangers to strike back.

Mika Zibanejad shot one past Hutton to put his team back within one goal just 30 seconds later.

The Blues didn't get a shot off in the third period. Yes, you read that right. The third period belonged to Carter Hutton, who stopped the 15 shots New York sent him. Hutton saved 33 of the 35 shots he faced. 

"Sometimes it goes quick when you're getting peppered," said Hutton. "It was great playing in front of these fans. I love hearing the towel guy on my side."

"We stayed together and our goalie played great. We are happy with this win and ready to keep going," said Tarasenko.

The Blues will take their 3-0-0 record to Canada for a three-game road trip. First, they'll battle the Canucks at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

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PJ Cox
Owner