ple,\' Sobotka said after the fifth

ST. Quinton Coples . LOUIS - Vladimir Sobotka needed just a couple shifts to return to top form Thursday night. Back after missed the previous 12 games because of a left knee injury, Sobotka had a goal and two assists to help the NHL-leading St. Louis Blues beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 on Thursday night. "I just kept it simple," Sobotka said after the fifth three-point game of his career. "It was about timing. As the game went along, I got a little faster and a little stronger." St. Louis has won six of seven overall and eight of nine against Edmonton. Alex Pietrangelo started a four-goal third period and Jaden Schwartz added two goals for the Blues, who outscored Edmonton 17-4 in sweeping the three-game season series. Pietrangelo, Schwartz and T.J. Oshie scored in 7:14 span at the outset of the third period to break a 2-2 tie, and Schwartz added his second goal of the period at 12:56. Ryan Miller made 23 saves to improve to 5-0-1 since joining the Blues in a trade with Buffalo on Feb. 28. Hes 7-0 against Edmonton. Sobotka scored late in the first period and then set up the winning goal 42 seconds into the third period. He stole the puck from Andrew Ference in the corner and found Pietrangelo wide open in the slot for a 3-2 lead. "We knew he was going to bring some energy and some bite back into our lineup," Pietrangelo said. "Whether he felt his best or not, it certainly looked like he didnt miss a beat. We kind of needed a little extra jump and he seems to have brought it." Pietrangelo felt he had to capitalize on Sobotkas hard work in the corner "It was a great pass, Id better bury it," Pietrangelo said. Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for St. Louis, and Oshie added two assists. Miller has stopped 134 of 145 shots in six games with St. Louis and has yet to lose in regulation. He has a 1.82 goals-against-average and .924 save percentage with the Blues. David Perron and Mark Fraser scored for Edmonton. Perron spent six seasons in St. Louis and leads the Oilers with 25 goals. Edmonton tied it at 2 late in the second period on Frasers shot from close range. The Blues then took over with a near-perfect third period. "We played with tempo and we played with speed in the neutral zone," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We were really effective. We put a lot of pressure on people." St. Louis outshot Edmonton 14-11 over the final 20 minutes, peppering goalie Ben Scrivens from start to finish. "They capitalized on their scoring chances," Scrivens said. "But I needed to make more saves than I did." The Oilers appeared to have gained the momentum with Frasers tying goal. "I dont care how good they are, we were able to play with them for two periods," Edmonton coach Dallas Eakins said. "We certainly should be able to do it for another 20 more minutes." Notes: St. Louis D Barret Jackman left the game briefly late in the second period after colliding with Jesse Joensuu. Jackman returned for the third period. ...The Oilers have used six goalies this season. ... Ten of the Blues last 13 games have been decided by one goal. ... Edmonton C Sam Gagner had a five-game points streak snapped. ... The Oilers are 7-2-3 in their last 12 games, their best stretch since going 8-3 at the start of the 2011-12 season. ... Oshies two assists give him a career-high 36 this season. DeMario Davis . -- Alex Anthopoulos spoke volumes with what he didnt say on right-hander Ervin Santana. Alex Green . Phoenix originally signed Barbosa to a 10-day contract on Jan. 8 after Eric Bledsoe injured his knee and then signed him to another 10-day deal.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- With a playoff spot already secured and a journeyman goalie starting, another loss by the Minnesota Wild to the St. Louis Blues seemed inevitable. Not so fast. Kyle Brodziak scored two goals and John Curry made 43 saves in his Wild debut to lead Minnesota over the struggling Blues 4-2 on Thursday night. Nino Niederreiter added a goal and an assist to help the Wild snap a nine-game losing streak against the Blues and win for the sixth time in seven games. "I was obviously very thankful to get the opportunity, no matter how it went," said Curry, whose father was childhood friends with Blues owner Tom Stillman. "But just based on my career, I know you dont get many of these. So its good to have success and to play well when you get the chance." St. Louis dropped its fourth straight and also lost star T.J. Oshie after he was shouldered in the face by Wild enforcer Mike Rupp halfway through a chaotic second period. Rupp was ejected, and Oshie dabbed blood from his mouth as he moved slowly back to the locker room after being down on the ice for 5 minutes. Rupp was assessed a match penalty for intent to injure. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Oshie is day to day. "I havent seen it because the bench was up. Ill look at video on the plane," Hitchcock said. "Obviously, Oshies out. Like everybody else at this time of year, hes day to day, but certainly a tough hit to take right now." Kevin Shattenkirk and Jaden Schwartz scored for the Blues. Curry, the fifth goalie Minnesota has started against St. Louis in five games, was called up to make his fifth NHL start. The Minnesota native had allowed 22 goals in his previous five games at AHL Iowa, but turned away four early power-play shots and had 17 saves in the first period to establish himself in his first NHL start since Jan. 11, 2010. "Weve got to find a way to outwork the goalie, get more traffic," Schwartz said. "There were pucks all around the net, all around him and we just couldnt find a way to bang it in. We did a good job of getting it there, but weve got to find a way to outwork these goalies." The way Curry was playing, outworking him might not have been an option. "Im sure one off those saves is going to be on NHL Tonight," Niederreiter said. Zach Sudfeld. Minnesota led 1-0 after the first on Niederreiters 14th goal and was controlling play during the first half of the second. Then, Rupp, playing for the first time since Feb. 1, knocked Oshie out of the game, and Shattenkirk tied it with a 5-on-3 goal a few seconds later. Brodziak and Schwartz traded short-handed goals before Matt Moulson buried his 23rd of the season at 17:30 to send the Wild into the second intermission with a 3-2 lead. It took Brodziak only 58 seconds to extend Minnesotas lead to 4-2 in the third period with his eighth goal. "It definitely felt good. But yeah, the whole game felt good," Brodziak said. "Everybody was involved and really focused on what we tried to accomplish, and we got er done tonight." Blues goalie Ryan Miller, who had stopped only nine of 13 shots, didnt leave immediately after Brodziaks second goal, but skated back to the locker room and was replaced by Brian Elliott at 16:22 of the third. Miller has allowed four goals in three straight games. After Brodziaks first goal, Blues centre Steve Ott was given a 10-minute game misconduct penalty for inciting the opponent. "Its frustrating. Its not fun losing," Schwartz said. "These are big, important games for us and its a big time of the year. Were confident in here that we can turn this around and we got two more games to do that." St. Louis entered the game second in the Western Conference, and theres a strong chance these teams could meet in the first round of the playoffs. St. Louis had pushed the Wild around all season, but the momentum appears to be shifting as both teams approach the post-season. In addition to beating the Blues, Minnesota has recently defeated Boston, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. "Our confidence has been starting to grow game-by-game just by the way were playing, the way we come out every night," Brodziak said. "Were not getting down." NOTES: The Blues have been outscored 16-4 during their four-game slide. ... Wild D Christian Folin made his NHL debut and recorded an assist. ... Oshie hasnt scored a point since recording a hat trick against Minnesota on March 27. ' ' '