ST. LOUIS (AP) - Andre Burakovsky, T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov each had a goal and an assist to lead the Washington Capitals to a 7-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.
Jay beagle, Brett Connolly, Marcus Johansson and Justin Williams also scored, and Alex Ovechkin and Daniel Winnik each had two assists to help Washington earn at least a point in its 12th straight game (10-0-2) for an NHL-best 66 points.
Braden Holtby bounced back from his roughest outing of the season with 22 saves. Holtby was pulled after giving up a season-high five goals on 26 shots in an 8-7 overtime loss at Pittsburgh on Monday. He improved to 22-8-4 and 5-0 lifetime against St. Louis.
Alexander Steen scored twice and Jaden Schwartz had a goal and two assists for St. Louis, which has lost its last three against Washington. The blues have also lost five of their last seven at home.
Burakovsky and Beagle scored in the game's first 7 minutes, 41 seconds to give Holtby some breathing room. Connolly and Johansson scored back-to-back goals in 11 seconds in the second period to push the lead to 5-1.
Blues goalie Jake Allen was pulled twice in the contest and gave up four goals on 10 shots in 25:11. He has been lifted in four of his last six games.
NOTES: The Capitals have outscored their opponents 45-17 in the first period this season. The plus-28 margin is the largest opening-period advantage in the league. ... The Blues have given up the first goal in their last eight home games. ... Washington D John Carlson missed his second successive game with a lower body injury. ... St. Louis D Joel Edmundson was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. "We need him to be a little more alert," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said.
UP NEXT
Capitals: At Dallas on Saturday.
Blues: At Winnipeg on Saturday night in the opener of a three-game trip.