Jonathan Drouin had two goals and an assist, Mackenzie Blackwood had 19 saves, and the Avalanche used a four-goal first period to beat the St. Louis Blues 5-0 on Friday night. Martin Necas scored his first goal with Colorado since he and Jack Drury were acquired from Carolina for pending unrestricted free agent Mikko Rantanen on Jan.

Jonathan Drouin had two goals and added an assist, Martin Necas scored his first goal with Colorado, and the Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 5-0 in Denver on Friday night.

Drouin gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 4:57 of the first period when he batted Juuso Parssinen’s centering pass out of the air from the edge of the crease. The puck had originally caromed off the end boards before Parsinen swatted it out in front from behind the net.

Drouin has been limited to 18 appearances this season due to injuries but has been productive when he's been in the lineup. He has produced four goals, 13 assists and 26 shots on target ...

The salary cap is going up as expected. And with it, the Avalanche will get the flexibility to continue to re-work their roster heading into next season’s training camp.