Continued: Blues' quick start dazes Wild in latest poor showing on road

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ST. LOUIS 3, WILD 1

Up next: 7 p.m. today vs. Carolina • Xcel Energy Center • TV: FSN (830-AM)

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ST. LOUIS - "Outchanced, outshot, outworked, outforechecked ... outeverythinged."

Friday morning, that's the way St. Louis Blues coach Andy Murray had described his team's first period during Tuesday's blowout loss in Pittsburgh.

And Murray might well have described his Blues' domination of play the same way during the first period of the Blues' 3-1 victory over the Wild on Friday at Scottrade Center.

"Nine games into the season, we've got to figure out by now how to be ready when the game starts," frustrated Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom said. "We can't afford to do it every night. The league's full of good teams. We can't give 20 minutes to any team."

The Wild, which tied a franchise record by losing for a seventh consecutive time on the road, was so outmuscled early, the team might have to call up six fresh defensemen to play tonight's game against Carolina.

"They were skating. They were moving. They were coming in the first," coach Todd Richards said. "We were hesitating, waiting for something to happen."

Veteran defenseman Kim Johnsson, the Wild's leading minuteman, suffered an upper-body injury late in the first when he was catapulted into Illinois by forward David Backes.

Richards said Johnsson described the injury as "hopefully nothing major," but John Scott, who played wing in place of ill Derek Boogaard on Friday, likely will fill in for Johnsson tonight.

"They forecheck hard. The first guy's on the puck, and he bangs," defenseman Nick Schultz said.

For the sixth time in nine games, the Wild gave up the first goal. This time, Jay McClement scored 56 seconds into the game. "Every game, it seems we're down one goal in the first five minutes," left winger Andrew Brunette said. "It makes it tough psychologically."

But Backstrom weathered the storm despite the Wild being outshot 15-4. The Wild regrouped in a hard-fought, Wild-controlled second period.

But with the Wild having a chance to tie the score on consecutive power plays, Blues goalie Chris Mason made a highlight-reel glove save to rob Brent Burns from the slot after a pretty Martin Havlat setup. "Sometimes you get those," Mason said. "You just kind of react."

It was huge. Moments after Marek Zidlicky's backcheck stopped Carlo Colaiacovo from even getting a shot on a shorthanded breakaway, the Wild gave up a shortie anyway. David Perron sprung a 2-on-1 and scored himself.

The Wild cut the deficit in half late in the second when newly acquired Chuck Kobasew crashed the net and scored his first as a Wild.

The Wild held St. Louis without a shot for the first 15 1/2 minutes of the third, but it couldn't get anything going. The players battled, but the Blues smothered and eventually got a Brad Boyes empty-netter.

"They're a team that sits back a lot when they have the lead, and you saw in the third, we couldn't get much," center Eric Belanger said. "There are no moral victories. We have four points in the standings. This is another loss."

The Wild should get injured winger Petr Sykora back tonight, and it wouldn't be surprising if Havlat is reunited with his Czech-mate.

Havlat has one goal on 17 shots in seven games, and Richards wants him to be more selfish.

"We have to get him to shoot more. He's got to be shooting instead of looking for that perfect pass," said Richards, but added, "He is a playmaker, so we have to find him a shooter."

And that, Sykora is.

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