Defenseman Cade Fairchild, who played four seasons for the Gophers, made his NHL debut on Tuesday for the St. Louis Blues.
He played 10 minutes and 31 seconds -- 22 seconds on a power play -- for the Blues in their 2-1 win at Washington. He had one shot on net -- from 45 feet out, one hit, one block but did not have a penalty or a point.
Fairchild is wearing No. 82, the reverse of his No. 28 with the Gophers. He was called up on Tuesday from the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL. He had two goals and five assists for seven points in 19 games with the Rivermen and was a plus-16.
The 5-11, 175-pound Fairchild was a fourth round draft pick of the Blues in 2007.
His debut in Washington, D.C., was overshadowed a bit by Dale Hunter, who was coaching the Capitals for the first time. Washington made a coaching change even though they had a 12-9-1 record. Hunter was coaching the London Knights i the Ontario Hockey League.
The Capitals opened the season 7-0-0 before a 5-9-1 tailspin. The Blues (13-8-2) made a coaching change earlier this month. They are 7-1-2 since Ken Hitchcock took over the team on Nov. 6.
