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ST. LOUIS (AP) - Derek Roy and David Backes scored power-play goals 2:31 apart in the second period to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 5-1 win over the struggling New York Islanders on Thursday night.
St. Louis won for the sixth time in eight games. The Islanders have lost eight straight overall (0-6-2) and eight in a row on the road.
Jay Bouwmeester, Magnus Paajarvi and Brenden Morrow also scored for the Blues, who improved to 12-1-2 at home and tied Boston (12-3-2) for the most home wins in the NHL. Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves and upped his record to 15-4-2.
Andrew MacDonald scored for the Islanders, who are 2-11-2 in their last 15 games.
St. Louis was 3 for 6 on the power play after managing one goal in its previous 10 chances.
The Blues scored three times in 7:57 during the second period to break a 1-all tie. Roy converted the rebound of a shot by Kevin Shattenkirk at 7:02 to put St. Louis in front 2-1. Following an instigator penalty on Matt Carkner, Backes scored on a wrist shot from the top of the circle.
Paajarvi added his second of the season just more than 5 minutes later.
New York goalie Anders Nilsson lost for the first time in regulation in his third start of the season.
The Islanders, who are 3-10-0 on the road, have given up a league-high 27 power-play goals.
NOTES: The Blues are 11-0-1 when leading after the first period. ... Islanders G Evgeni Nabokov, who is out with a groin injury, practiced Wednesday and could rejoin the team in a week. ... New York started a five-game road swing that will end Dec. 12 in Phoenix. ... Paajarvi was back in the lineup after missing the previous game with the flu. ... St. Louis won the previous meeting between the teams 5-1 on Feb. 16, 2012. ... The Blues killed off 15 successive penalties at home before MacDonald's power-play goal in the second period.
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