Drouin has 2 goals and an assist, Necas scores in home debut and Avalanche blank Blues 5-0

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DENVER (AP) — Jonathan Drouin had two goals and an assist, Mackenzie Blackwood had 19 saves, and the Avalanche used a four-goal first period to beat the St. Louis Blues 5-0 on Friday night.

Martin Necas scored his first goal with Colorado since he and Jack Drury were acquired from Carolina for pending unrestricted free agent Mikko Rantanen on Jan. 24. They made their home debuts after playing their first three games on the road. Necas scored his 17th of the season 7:39 into the game.

Drouin scored at 4:57 of the first and added a power-play goal later in the first period that made it 3-0. Cale Makar capped the four-goal period with his third in the past three games. He leads all defensemen with 19 and is second in points with 57.

Joel Kiviranta capped the shutout at 13:21 of the third period.

Joel Hofer made 31 saves for St. Louis, which has dropped four in a row and five of its last six games.

Blues: Have struggled to find offense during their four-game losing streak. They’ve been outscored 16-4 and have been shut out twice.

Avalanche: Blackwood had his first shutout with Colorado, his second of the season and 12th of his career.

The Blues had a chance at a short-handed goal heading when they had a two-on-one rush late in the second period. Makar sprawled out in front of the net to block Rob Thomas’ pass, and time ran out in the period.

Colorado’s power play woke up after a long struggle. The Avalanche were 3 of 41 in their previous 16 games and had not scored more than a goal with the man advantage since Dec. 19.

Both teams are in action Sunday, with the Blues wrapping up a quick two-game road trip at Utah and the Avalanche hosting Philadelphia.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL