Tarasenko nets 2, gets in rare fight as Blues top…

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals and two assists and got in a rare fight Tuesday night, helping the St. Louis Blues to an 8-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Brayden Schenn also had two goals and two assists, and Jake Allen stopped 26 shots for the NHL-leading Blues.

Tarasenko’s fight came in the second period. In just the third scrap of his six-year career, Tarasenko tangled with Matt Benning and landed a solid right hand much to the crowd’s delight.

Tarasenko was reacting to Benning’s near-collision with Schenn that was almost a knee-on-knee hit.

It was Tarasenko’s second career Gordie Howe hat trick – a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game. The other one came on Nov. 13, 2014, against Nashville.

St. Louis (16-5-1) scored two goals in each of the first two periods before adding four in a wide-open third.

Tarasenko got his 11th goal 3:16 into the first period on two deflections. Shooting from the slot, he scored when his shot hit Connor McDavid’s stick and then Adam Larsson’s stick for a 1-0 lead.

Tarasenko has 14 points in his last 13 games (nine goals, five assists) against the Oilers.

The Blues made it 2-0 when Dmitrij Jaskin scored at 7:35. He outmuscled Ryan Strome for the puck in the right circle and hit a rising wrist shot threw sailed over Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot’s left shoulder.

The Oilers pulled Talbot, who faced just three shots, in favor of Lauren Brossoit. It was the third time this season Talbot, who has started 105 of Edmonton’s last 116 games, has been pulled.

Brossoit faced 37 shots and allowed six goals.

St. Louis went up 3-0 when Jaden Schwartz knocked in the rebound of a shot by Tarasenko. Brossoit kicked out Tarasenko’s shot and it went right to Schwartz, who snapped in a wrist shot from the high slot at 3:52 of the second.

It was the 100th career goal for Schwartz, who had three points.

A goal by Schenn from the slot made it 4-0 with 19 seconds left in the period. Schwartz fed Schenn with a pass and he one-timed the puck by Brossoit.

Edmonton cut it to 4-1 when Milan Lucic scored at 6:09 of the third. St. Louis got the goal back when Scottie Upshall scored from just outside the crease on a pass from Chris Thorburn at 7:39.

Tarasenko added his second goal at 12:21 for a 6-1 lead. Schenn scored on a power play at 14:37.

After Leon Draisaitl scored for Edmonton, the Blues responded with a goal by Paul Stastny.

Darnell Nurse scored the Oilers’ final goal.

NOTES: Veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, a two-time All-Star, played his first game of the season for the Blues. He broke his left ankle when he was hit by a puck on the third day of training camp in September. … McDavid played after missing practice Monday with flu-like symptoms. … With Bouwmeester back, D Carl Gunnarsson was a healthy scratch for the Blues. … St. Louis is 10-2 in its last 12 games at home. … Edmonton is 1-5 in its last six games. The Oilers are 3-9 in their past 12 on the road, losing four straight away from home.

UP NEXT

Oilers: At the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.

Blues: Host the Nashville Predators on Friday.

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More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Edmonton Oilers’ Matt Benning, left, and St. Louis Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko, of Russia, fight during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Blues right wing Scottie Upshall reacts after scoring in the third period during a game between the St. Louis Blues and the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday Nov. 21, 2017, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. (Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

St. Louis Blues’ Brayden Schenn (10) scores past Edmonton Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in St. Louis. The Blues won 8-3. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Blues’ Scottie Upshall (9) celebrates after scoring past Edmonton Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit, right, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, left, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in St. Louis. The Blues won 8-3. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Blues’ Paul Stastny (26) scores past Edmonton Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit and Kris Russell (4) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in St. Louis. The Blues won 8-3. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Blues’ Jaden Schwartz smiles after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid, left, is unable to score past St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Blues’ Dmitrij Jaskin, of Russia, is congratulated by Robert Bortuzzo, right, after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Blues’ Joel Edmundson (6) knocks the puck away from Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl, center, as Blues goalie Jake Allen, right, watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Edmonton Oilers’ Patrick Maroon, right, and St. Louis Blues’ Jay Bouwmeester chase after a loose puck along the boards during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in St. Louis. The Blues won 8-3. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)