No. 1 line puts Blues back in series

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues are alive and kicking in the NHL playoffs thanks to their No. 1 line, which is a lot more unheralded than the Detroit Red Wings' All-Star lineup but every bit as productive.

The threesome of Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra and Scott Mellanby combined for five goals and four assists in the surprising 6-1 Game 3 blowout that cut the Red Wings' series lead to 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Thursday night.

"They're everywhere out there," goalie Brent Johnson said. "The whole team is playing well, but that line's just on fire."

Tkachuk got his first career playoff hat trick, Demitra had a goal and three assists to hike his team-leading playoff total to 11 points and Mellanby had his sixth goal of the playoffs -- and third in two games -- plus an assist. The big game from the big line came a day after Mellanby sounded off about media criticism that the Blues perhaps were in awe of a Red Wings' lineup that has won a total of 23 Stanley Cups.

Together, the Tkachuk-Demitra-Mellanby line has 14 goals and 14 assists in the playoffs. The Red Wings' top line of Sergei Fedorov, Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman has seven goals and 18 assists.

"Hey, listen, they've got guys with a lot of Stanley Cup rings over there, and guys who if you voted today, they're in the Hall of Fame," Mellanby said. "I think we've got guys who are going to be in the Hall of Fame, too.

"We feel we're built to take a shot at the Cup, and we know they are."

Mellanby and Tkachuk are both bangers who clear space for Demitra, a sniper who was second on the team with 35 goals in the regular season.

"I've always felt like I have to go to the net, and with Tkachuk I can't get to the net first," Mellanby said. "It's not going to work if we're bashing into each other."

Mellanby and Tkachuk each scored on the power play, giving life to a unit that entered the game 0-for-9 in the series. Mellanby's goal on a 5-on-3 advantage put the Blues ahead to stay at 2-1 in the final minute of the first period, and Tkachuk deflected a Chris Pronger slap shot to make it 3-1 at 17:22 of the second.

"We've known all along that they have some big penalty kill guys and a great power play and they were able to get it clicking," Red Wings forward Darren McCarty said. "We've got to do a better job of staying out of the box."

As effective as the No. 1 line has been, the Blues want more production from the other three lines. Fourth line winger Jamal Mayers got the final goal in Game 3.

"We expect to get a little more of a balanced contribution," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We've been relying on that line on a regular basis and we hope they can sustain it, but we'd like to see some other guys score."

The Red Wings didn't seem overwrought about the spanking they absorbed. Goalie Dominik Hasek, who gave up five goals on 16 shots before being removed midway through the third period, promised a stingier effort the next time out.

Hasek stopped 58 of 60 shots the first two games, including his eighth career playoff shutout in the series opener.

"We lost, and we have to re-focus for the next game," Hasek said. "It doesn't mean anything, how much we lost by. We know everyone in this locker room has to play better, because it was a little embarrassing."

Hasek doesn't plan on changing anything for Game 4.

"You give up five goals, you cannot win the game," he said. "I have to play better for sure, I have to play much better."

The Blues are counting on a determined response from the Red Wings, who still can take a commanding series lead with a victory.

"It's something we can build off, but by no means are we getting excited," forward Dallas Drake said. "They're just going to throw this one way, they won't even think about it.

"They've got too many guys over there who'll brush this one off and come back twice as good."