Avalanche skate past Blues 3-1

Semyon Varlamov and the Colorado Avalanche earn 3-1 road win over the St. Louis Blues.(Photo captured from Reuters video)
Semyon Varlamov and the Colorado Avalanche earn 3-1 road win over the St. Louis Blues.(Photo captured from Reuters video)

Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves to help lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-1 road win over the St. Louis Blues Sunday (December 13) night at the Scottrade Center.

Colorado jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead on goals from Jack Skille and John Mitchell and then added an insurance goal when Carl Soderberg scored into an empty with 21.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

The win was the second in as many nights for Russian netminder Varlamov, who stopped 34 shots Saturday in a 3-2 Avalanche win over the Nashville Predators.

Vladimir Tarasenko’s power play tally midway through the third period, his 18th goal of the season, cut the Colorado lead in half at 2-1.

Goalie Jake Allen took the loss after allowing two goals on just 18 Colorado shots.

The Avalanche improved to 14-16-1 (29 points) with the win but remain in last place in the Central division while the Blues fell to 17-8-4 (38 points), good for second place in the Central. (Reuters)