Tarasenko lifts Blues to outdoor win over Blackhawks

LOS ANGELES - Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals within two minutes of the third period Monday to break a 1-1 tie and lead the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at the NHL’s Winter Classic outdoor game. Tarasenko’s first goal at 12:05 in the third came as his attempt at a backhanded centering pass deflected off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and into the net. The Russian right-winger’s next goal, at 13:58, was more straightforward - a wrist shot past Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford for his 18th goal of the season. “Well, he’s a hungry offensive player,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “He’s a guy that sniffs out weaknesses, or he sniffs out coverage issues and he jumps on it. “And when he’s engaged like he was today and like he’s been for most part of this year, he’s dangerous because he’s one shift away from breaking the thing right open.” Tarasenko had two superb chances earlier in the third, but was denied by Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford on a breakaway before hitting the post while the Blues were on a power play. It was the fifth outdoor game for the Blackhawks, the most of any team in the NHL in the showpiece events first conceived as a nod to the game’s pond-hockey roots. The contest at a mist-shrouded Busch Stadium, before a capacity crowd of 46,556, was the first outdoor game for the Blues. Devils 3, Bruins 0: Cory Schneider stopped 22 shots as the New Jersey Devils blanked the Boston Bruins. Schneider, who was on the bench the past two games while backup Keith Kinkaid started, entered the game with a 10-12-4 record and a career-worst .904 save percentage. The 30-year-old, however, made a huge save on Brad Marchand in dying seconds of the first period to preserve their 1-0 lead, that they never relinquished. Taylor Hall, PA Parenteau and Sergey Kalinin scored for the Devils, while Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask made 23 saves. Canucks 3, Avalanche 2: Sven Baertschi scored his second goal of the game at 16:23 of the third period and Daniel Sedin collected his 600th NHL assist as Vancouver defeated Colorado. Bo Horvat also scored for the Canucks. Mikko Rantanen and Tyson Barrie scored for the Avalanche, who lost their fourth successive game. Colorado has one win in its last 10 games.