January 7, 2008

Stempniak Nets Career Goal No. 50, Lifts Blues

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Former Dartmouth standout Lee Stempniak scored his 50th NHL goal in the first period and Manny Legace made 26 saves to make it stand up in the St. Louis Blues' 1-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

Stempniak scored his ninth of the season 12:49 into the game with a quick redirection from the slot between Michael Leighton's pads. The goal came on a setup pass from Jay McKee, who played a puck that was shot in behind the boards from Ryan Johnson.

"Lee Stempniak on a pass from Jay McKee and Ryan Johnson is not your typical scoring combination," Blues coach Andy Murray said.

The goal was the 50th of Stempniak's career, a feat that he was not aware of after the game.

"It's nice to get a goal and win," Stempniak said. "We didn't get the start we wanted, but we got that goal and went ahead. We fought hard for the two points and it's a gratifying win in the sense that we stuck with it, played hard ... took the body and blocked shots and got a win like that."

Legace made the first critical save in the third period when he stopped Chad LaRose, who was able to free himself and skate into the slot from the left circle.

Frantisek Kaberle's one-timer from the high slot seconds into a power play with 12:30 left rang off the top of the crossbar.

St. Louis struggled on the power play, going 0-for-4 against the league's worst penalty-killing unit. The Blues have failed on 28 straight power-play chances are ranked last in the NHL.

Notes: The Blues welcomed former Colgate standout Andy McDonald (chest) and D Barret Jackman (concussion) back into the lineup.