Blues 2, Avalanche 0

ST. LOUIS (AP) -St. Louis goaltender Manny Legace believes the formula to his recent success comes down to expecting a good result when he takes to the ice.

He didn't have that feeling very often while the Blues muddled through their first 30 games. Lately he has.

Legace stopped 33 shots and St. Louis won for the fifth time in six games with a 2-0 victory over Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. He has allowed only nine goals during that span and all five victories have come in regulation. The Blues had won twice in regulation and four overall before their current streak.

"Goaltending is all confidence," he said. "And when you're having confidence in the guys around you, your confidence grows."

Since returning from a concussion that sidelined him for about a week, he has a 1.58 goals-against average in the past eight games. The Blues haven't lost in regulation during those games and have earned 13 of 31 points.

With Legace playing solidly in net, the Blues have also gotten strong play out of their special teams. After scoring three times on the power-play Friday night, St. Louis scored with the advantage in the first and second periods to give Legace an early cushion.

Keith Tkachuk scored his 10th of the season when he knocked in a rebound of Eric Brewer's slap shot midway through the first period. Lee Stempniak added his 11th goal with a slap shot from the top of the slot that rocketed past Peter Budaj and into the top of the net. Budaj faced 22 shots.

Both teams fought off 5-on-3 opportunities in the second period. St. Louis managed two shots with Pierre Turgeon (hooking) and Mark Rycroft (tripping) in the box together for 1:44. The Blues took one more shot during the final 16 seconds of Rycroft's penalty.

Less than 3 minutes later, Radek Dvorak (holding) preceded Dallas Drake (high sticking) into the net by 12 seconds. Colorado got three shots off with the two-man advantage.

"That was the differential tonight, special teams," Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Avalanche appeared to score midway through the third period. However, the referees immediately declared no goal. A review by the officials confirmed the puck slid under the back of the net after St. Louis' Barret Jackman inadvertently lifted up the goal.

Notes: Tkachuk's goal came on the Blues' first shot. ... Both teams failed to score on 5-on-3 opportunities in the second period. ... The Blues had not recorded a shutout since Jan. 23, when Curtis Sanford blanked Vancouver.