Stempniak scores twice in 7-3 exhibition victory over Maple Leafs

ST. LOUIS -- Lee Stempniak had two goals and an assist and the St. Louis Blues chased Curtis Joseph with six goals on their first 12 shots in a 7-3 preseason victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

"I know what I've got to do, I know where I've got to go," the 41-year-old Joseph said. "Just a bruised ego, that's all. I can get over that."

Andy McDonald of the Blues had a goal and two assists in the first period, giving him 11 points in four preseason games. Brad Boyes scored his fourth goal of the preseason and added an assist, and Chris Mason made 21 saves in a game plagued by skirmishes in the final period.

The McDonald-Stempniak-Boyes line has totaled 29 points in four preseason games for St. Louis, which concludes the preseason Saturday at Atlanta. The Blues (3-2-1) open the regular season Oct. 10 at home against the Nashville Predators.

"I don't know if we're amazed," Boyes said. "We've got good chemistry."

Joseph returned to the Maple Leafs with a one-year, free agent contract this summer and made his first start against the Blues. Anton Stralman scored his third goal of the preseason and added an assist for the Maple Leafs (2-3-1), who beat the Blues 4-3 in overtime in Toronto on Monday night.

"Normally, you wouldn't, in an exhibition game, take the goalie out," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. "But a lot of shots were going in and I didn't want Cujo to have to suffer through a night if he didn't have it, and he didn't.

"He'll recover. He's been through this stuff before."

Yan Stastny got his first goal of the preseason just 11 seconds into the game. Goals by Boyes, Stempniak and rookie T.J. Oshie made it 4-0 before the period was 10 minutes old.

Stempniak's second goal at 2:56 of the second made it 6-1 and that was it for Joseph, Toronto's backup behind Vesa Toskala. Rookie Justin Pogge shut out the Blues until David Perron scored his fifth goal of the preseason with 30 seconds to go.

The lopsided loss ended a string of four straight one-goal games for Toronto.