Blues rip Islanders, 5-1

Blues goalie Jarolsav Halak keeps his eyes on a loose puck during the first period of Thursday's game in St. Louis.
Blues goalie Jarolsav Halak keeps his eyes on a loose puck during the first period of Thursday's game in St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS - Derek Roy and David Backes scored power-play goals 2:31 apart in the second period to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 5-1 win against the struggling New York Islanders on Thursday night.

St. Louis won for the sixth time in eight games. The Islanders have lost eight straight overall (0-6-2) and eight in a row on the road.

Jay Bouwmeester, Magnus Paajarvi and Brenden Morrow also scored for the Blues, who improved to 12-1-2 at home and tied Boston (12-3-2) for the most home wins in the NHL. Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves and upped his record to 15-4-2.

Andrew MacDonald scored for the Islanders, who are 2-11-2 in their last 15 games.