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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Pavol Demitra picked up the slack for his
injured teammates Saturday.
Demitra had his first career hat trick to help St. Louis defeat
Anaheim 6-3 on Saturday. The six-goal outburst was impressive
because St. Louis was without two of its biggest offensive weapons,
Pierre Turgeon and Al MacInnis.
| | St. Louis' Bob Bassen, left, checks Anaheim's Vitaly Vishnevski behind the net. |
Demitra's goals helped bring the Blues back from a 3-1 deficit
to defeat Anaheim for the first time in the last five meetings at
Kiel Center. Demitra has 24 goals this season.
"This is a huge two points for us because we trailed most of
the game," Demitra said. "We never quit believing and kept with
it. This is a big win for us."
Bryan Helmer's first career goal gave St. Louis a 4-3 lead in
the third period.
Helmer, a defenseman who was recalled from Worcester of the
American Hockey League on Friday, beat Anaheim goaltender Guy
Hebert at 10:47 of the the period.
"I felt like a little kid who finally gets some candy," Helmer
said. "I got a huge monkey off my back and, more importantly, I
helped the team win the game."
Demitra got his first of the game at 15:18 of the second period
to slice Anaheim's lead to 3-2.
At 2:07 of the third, Demitra scored a power-play goal to tie
the game at 3-3. His third goal made the score 5-3 in the third.
"The goals were nice but it's even better to get the win,"
Demitra said.
Anaheim coach Craig Hartsburg was disappointed in how his team
played when it held the lead.
"We got a two-goal lead and we stopped working and Demitra made
us pay," Hartsburg said. "If you stop working, a team like St.
Louis will make you pay for not working."
Paul Kariya scored two goals for Anaheim.
Kariya's goals, which give him 34 on the year, extended his
personal goal-scoring streak to three. His second goal came was a
power play, marking the seventh game in a row Anaheim had
surrendered a power-play goal.
The loss ended Anaheim's road unbeaten streak at five.
Kariya scored at 13:36 of the first to give Anaheim a 2-1 lead.
With St. Louis shorthanded, Kariya banked the puck off Blues
defenseman Chris Pronger from behind the net at 10:59 of the second
to increase Anaheim's lead to 3-1.
"Paul helped get us a two-goal lead, and when you get a
two-goal lead you should work twice as hard," Hartsburg said.
"Tonight we didn't work hard when we got the lead, we went the
other way."
Teemu Selanne assisted on both of Kariya's goals to extend his
scoring streak to 10 games.
Hebert made 30 saves while St. Louis goaltender Roman Turek
stopped 20 shots.
Scott Young scored his 17th for St. Louis in the first period.
Anaheim's Kip Miller tied the game with a power-play goal at 10:21
of the first.
Jamal Mayers added an empty-net goal for St. Louis.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Anaheim Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 3 Buffalo 2
Chicago 4 Atlanta 3
Florida 5 Boston 1
Montreal 5 Ottawa 4
NY Islanders 5 Pittsburgh 1
Vancouver 4 Toronto 1
Carolina 5 Tampa Bay 2
Washington 4 Nashville 2
St. Louis 6 Anaheim 3
Phoenix 4 Calgary 3
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