The test of manhood the Ducks expected from the St. Louis Blues didn’t require anywhere near the muscle flexing that was anticipated.
Assigned to a third game in four nights and deflated by the Saturday night upper-body injury to high-priced free-agent acquisition Paul Stastny, the Blues were flattened by the exuberant Ducks, 3-0, Sunday at Honda Center.
“Any team coming off a back-to-back, you want to get a jump on them,” said Ducks forward Matt Beleskey, who scored 83 seconds into the game. “We’re tough when we’re moving our feet like that, jumping on loose pucks … it’s hard to get hits on us.”
Goalie Frederik Andersen won his fifth consecutive start, stopping 28 St. Louis shots for his first NHL shutout, while young defenseman Sami Vatanen produced his first two-goal game for the Ducks (5-1), who improved to 8-0 at home against the Blues since 2010.
“You always don’t want to let any goals in,” Andersen said. “That’s something you’ll remember.”
The victory made Andersen the first goalie since Boston’s Ross Brooks in 1972-74 to win at least 25 of his first 30 decisions. Andersen is 25-5.
Both of Vatanen’s goals came on power plays, the first coming in the tone-setting first period, in which the Blues were stifled to just four shots on goal.
“We started the game pretty well, took the pucks into their zone,” Vatanen said. “They’re a good team, play big and strong, but I think we played pretty well.”
Beleskey, 26, scored a career-high nine goals in 55 games last season, but he’s already at four even after being moved off the first line to join rookie William Karlsson and second-year Duck Rickard Rakell on the third line.
The difference?
“I worked a lot this summer with my skills coach [in Canada] on shooting, trying to hit the net, get that shot away quick,” Beleskey said. “It’s paying off. Got to keep it rolling, though.”
The Blues scored six goals in Arizona on Saturday night, with forward Jaden Schwartz producing his first career hat trick, but a night later, Schwartz was denied an open look by the stick of diving Ducks defenseman Clayton Stoner.
Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf had the second assist on Vatanen’s first goal and was instrumental in setting up the 3-0 lead by drawing St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott’s attention on a rush, then shifting a pass to Vatanen, who had a wide opening to shoot at.
“Just close your eyes and shoot it,” Vatanen said. “The other guys did the work. I just had to get my stick on the ice.”
Andersen capped the shutout by denying a frenzy of empty net attempts in the final minute, making 16 saves in the third period. St. Louis (2-2-1) also had 14 shots blocked in the game, and missed 14 other tries.
“We caught them at a good time,” Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We played almost a perfect [first] period.”
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