Tkachuk scores twice on power play for Blues

The St. Louis Blues' decision to use five forwards on the power play looked like a stroke of genius in their opener. Keith Tkachuk scored two of St. Louis' four goals with the man advantage in a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night. Brad Boyes and David Backes also scored power-play goals for the Blues, who won their season opener for the first time since 1996 and ended a five-game losing streak against Nashville. "We've been kind of touted as a bottom-five team," Backes said. "It's a new year, it's a new team, it's a new season." Star defenseman Erik Johnson was to have been the quarterback on the power play. After his season-ending knee injury in a team golf outing before training camp, coach Andy Murray elected to go with all skill players. "It's an experiment and it's working right now," Tkachuk said.... [read full story]