Tkachuk's quick goals send Blues to 4-3 win

ST. LOUIS -- Keith Tkachuk ended a five-game goal drought when he scored twice in a span of 33 seconds in the second period as the St. Louis Blues beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 Thursday night.

Chris Pronger had three assists and Brent Johnson, who shut out the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday night, made 30 saves.

The points were the first in three games for Pronger. Tyson Nash and Pavol Demitra also scored for the Blues.

St. Louis was outshot 18-4 in the first period, falling behind 1-0, but outshot the Hurricanes the rest of the way.

Jeff O'Neill had two goals for the Hurricanes, giving him 10 on the season. David Tanabe also scored for the Southeast Division-leading Hurricanes, who have lost three of four.

Al MacInnis, who had two penalty minutes in the Blues' first 11 games, was whistled for two penalties in the first period. The first one, an interference call for twice knocking a dropped stick in the direction of Josef Vasicek, led to an O'Neill goal on a 5-on-3 Hurricanes advantage at 12:03 of the first.

The Blues took control in the second period with a 20-7 shots advantage. Tkachuk scored his first from the point on a power play at 2:27 and his second off a Pronger setup at the three-minute mark to put the Blues ahead 2-1.

Tanabe tied it off a faceoff won by Vasicek at 9:30 before St. Louis took the lead for good on Nash's deflection of a Pronger drive at 9:59.

Demitra scored on a rebound shot from the side of the net at 3:30 on a power play to put the Blues ahead 4-2.

O'Neill stuffed a rebound past Johnson at 9:31 for the final goal.

Tkachuk, second on the Blues with six goals, assisted on the only goal in the 1-0 victory in Colorado Wednesday.

The Blues were 16-11-5 playing on consecutive days last season. This was the first of 12 such occasions this season for the team.

NOTES: This was the only meeting between the Blues and Hurricanes this season. ... MacInnis, who had eight shots, assisted on Tkachuk's first goal and has scored 42 points in 43 career games against the Hurricanes. ... Sami Kapenen had a first-period assist and has two goals and six points in six games since recovering from a back injury. ... The Hurricanes have been outscored 14-9 in the third period.