Blues score 3 times in the 3rd to double up Maple Leafs

Veterans Brandon Saad, Ryan O'Reilly and Pavel Buchnevich scored in the third period to give the St. Louis Blues a 6-3 win and torpedo a two-goal effort from Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander on Saturday.

The victory against one of the league's top teams in the Maple Leafs (32-13-3) arrived two days after the Blues departed Montreal red-faced because they dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime to end the last-place Canadiens' 10-game losing streak.

Saad finished a pinpoint three-way passing play from linemate David Perron and defenceman Colton Parayko, 4:38 into the third period. O'Reilly deflected a point shot from Niko Mikkola midway through the final period.

The home side outshot St. Louis 37-34. Blues 27-year-old Finnish goalie Ville Husso now has gone 9-1-1 since the calendar flipped to 2022.

Toronto's Auston Matthews saw his nine-game point streak end.

The Blues (29-14-6) were without their top point-getter, Vladimir Tarasenko, injured in Montreal on Thursday. St. Louis head coach Craig Berube listed his sniper as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

Tarasenko's absence didn't matter much to the visitors in the first period. Buchnevich hammered in a rebound off the blocker of Toronto goalie Jack Campbell for an early lead.

Fourth-liner Klim Kostin made it 2-0 midway through the opening frame when he converted a cross-ice backhand pass from Tyler Bozak.

Nylander put his team on the board with a stick-side wrist shot late in the first period for his 18th goal of the year.

Nylander had gone the previous seven games without a goal, but the right-shot forward tied the game early in the second period off the rush on the left side.

However, the Blues regained the lead 29 seconds later when Brayden Schenn popped