Blues win; Stillman busts loose

ST. LOUIS -- It took half a season for Cory Stillman to score a goal at home. Once he got one, the next two were easy.

Stillman scored three goals, and Doug Weight added four assists, leading the St. Louis Blues to a 5-2 victory Saturday over the Dallas Stars.

The left wing scored in every period to record his first hat trick with the Blues and third of his career. His last one also came against Dallas.

"I remembered that one, I scored all three goals in the third period," Stillman said. "But for me, the biggest thing was to come out here and score at home."

Stillman, who entered with six goals, hasn't been happy with his play.

"This game is all about confidence," Stillman said. "When you have it, you play well. When you have the puck, you make great decisions. Earlier in the season, that wasn't happening for me. I wasn't doing the little things. I struggled early and I've taken some heat about it. I deserved it. I haven't lived up to my expectations."

Weight, Stillman's linemate, noticed Stillman's struggles.

"It's been a tough year for Cory," Weight said. "The puck hasn't been going in. He had a great game today. Maybe now he is headed in the right direction."

Blues coach Joel Quenneville said he knew it would just be a matter of time before Stillman showed his true form.

"We've seen him play well before," Quenneville said. "Last year when we acquired him for the playoffs, he was very effective for us. This year, he's had a tough start. There's some built-in frustration there.

"His confidence has grown since he's been playing with Weight. Hopefully, this can begin something that shows he can be consistently offensively for us."

St. Louis took a 1-0 lead at 14:49 of the first period on a goal by Stillman. Scott Young fired a shot from the right circle that goalie Ed Belfour couldn't handle cleanly. Stillman beat defenseman Richard Matvichuk to the loose puck and poked it in.

Mike Modano tied it with an unassisted goal at 3:37 of the second, but St. Louis scored the next three -- two on the power play -- to make it 4-1.