Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche Shutout The St. Louis Blues On The Road, 4-0

Apr 5, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov (1) makes a save as Avalanche defenseman Andre Benoit (61) defends against St. Louis Blues left wing Magnus Paajarvi (56) during the second period at the Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Avalanche (50-21,6, 106 points) collected win number 50 on the season Saturday afternoon at Scottrade Center in Saint Louis, Missouri, defeating the Blues by the final of 4-0. In a scrappy, penalty-filled game, Semyon Varlamov was solid in net for the Avalanche. The Russian would stop 31-of-31 shots for the shutout, picking up his second shutout of the season and his 40th win. The Avalanche started jumping all over the Blues at the beginning of the second period where Paul Stastny would score a power-play goal for his 22nd of the season on the assists from Nathan MacKinnon and Maxime Talbot for the 1-0 lead.

Then the rookie himself Nathan MacKinnon would answer just five minutes later as Jamie McGinn took a shot on net that went off of Ryan Miller directly to MacKinnon who then shot it in on the rebound attempt for his 24th of the season. McGinn and Nate Guenin would be credited with the assists on the goal. The scoring didn’t stop there as rookie Nick Holden would join in on the action, scoring his 10th goal of the season on the assists from Paul Stastny and John Mitchell to put the Avalanche up 3-0.

Things started getting very chippy in the third period as the Blues players were obviously frustrated. Late in the game, three-straight Blues players tried hitting Patrick Bordeleau up against the boards as chaos ensued on the ice. Some players had to be sent to the locker room for the remainder of the game including Bordeleau. Ryan O’Reilly would put the cherry on top with less than five minutes remaining, scoring on the power-play for his 27th goal of the season. Paul Stastny would pick up his second assist of the game as Gabriel Landeskog picked up the other helper as that would be the final score.

Three Stars:

3: Ryan O’Reilly (COL): Power-play goal late in the third.
2: Paul Stastny (COL): One goal, two assists.
1: Semyon Varlamov (COL): 31-of-31 saves, shutout. Records 40th win of the season.

The Colorado Avalanche (50-21-6, 106 points) return to action Sunday night as they will host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck-drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM ET, 6:00 PM MT.