NHL Playoffs : Meagher Helps Blues Beat Flames and Even Series

Rick Meagher scored two goals to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames Thursday night, tying their Stanley Cup semifinal hockey series at 2-2.

Game 5 of the best-of-seven Campbell Conference final will be played Saturday night at Calgary. Game 6 is scheduled at St. Louis next Monday night.

Meagher and Mark Hunter scored four minutes apart in the first period. St. Louis made it 3-0 on Gino Cavallini’s goal at 16:03 of the second.

“We aren’t playing in the Final Four just to be showing up. We’re playing to win,” St. Louis Coach Jacques Demers said. “Calgary is a great skating team. They didn’t get any two-on-ones tonight. That’s why we won.”

Meagher’s goals gave him four in the playoffs. The first came on a conversion of a goalmouth pass and the second while the Blues were skating shorthanded in the opening minute of the third period.

Lanny McDonald scored both Calgary goals on power plays. McDonald’s second goal, in the first minute of the third period, followed Meagher’s second by 26 seconds.

At 7:33 of the first period, Bernie Federko won a faceoff in the Flames’ zone to set up Hunter’s goal, which gave the Blues a 1-0 lead. The slapshot sailed past Calgary goalie Mike Vernon.

St. Louis goaltender Rick Wamsley, who allowed four goals in just over a period in Game 2, stopped 30 shots, including 11 in the first period.