ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong ended a Thursday morning news conference by saying that Alexander Steen had to leave, "to go out and earn his money," after the left wing had signed a three-year, $17.4 million contract extension. So far, Steen is off to a good start. He scored twice and Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves against his former team to lead the Blues to a 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. St. Louis broke a two-game losing streak and improved to 14-3-2 at home. Montreal has lost four of six. Steen recorded his fifth two-goal game of the season. His 24 goals place him second behind Washingtons Alex Ovechkin, who has 28. "It was a pretty good day," Steen said. Steen tied a career high for most goals in a season. He also had 24 in 2009-2010. Steens signing ignited his teammates. "When the news first broke, it fired everyone up," winger Chris Stewart said. "We came out with the right intensity." Halak improved to 4-0 against the Canadiens, who traded him to St. Louis on June 17, 2010. He is 17-6-2 this season. Stewart, Jaden Schwartz and Maxim Lapierre also scored for St. Louis. T.J. Oshie added two assists. Brendan Gallagher scored for Montreal, which began a season-high six-game road trip. It was his first goal in 12 games. Steen started a three-goal outburst in the first period with a short-handed goal at 4:20. He scored again at 7:55 to make it 2-0. Steen gave his teammates credit for the win. "We played a solid game throughout the whole 60 minutes," he said. "We came out with a lot of jump. I felt like we dictated from the early going." Stewart capped the early blitz with his 10th goal of the season at 13:33. It was his fifth in as many games. The Blues had been outscored 6-1 in the first period in their three previous games. Halak continued his mastery of his former teammates. He has an 0.98 goals-against average and a .960 save percentage in four starts against Montreal. He stopped Michael Bournival on a partial breakaway in the early going and made 12 stops in the final period. "Its been good, for now," he said. "But we will see them again. Its great to (be) 4-0. But for us, it was all about the two points." Montreal goalie Carey Price gave up three goals on the first eight shots and fell to 16-11-2 as the Canadiens dig themselves a deep hole and never quite recovered. "We didnt show up tonight," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "It was simple, our work ethic was not there. Im disappointed in our performance -- no effort. This was a bad game for us." Montreal captain Brian Gionta lamented the poor start. "It was a period that we just werent ready for," he said. Notes: Montreal C Daniel Briere was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. .... Schwartz returned to the lineup after missing two games with an upper-body injury. ... The Blues beat Montreal 4-1 in the teams previous meeting in St. Louis on March 10, 2011. ... The Blues will play 12 of their next 13 games against Western Conference opponents. ... St. Louis LW Brenden Morrow picked up his 300th career assist on Stewarts first-period goal. ... Montreal D Alexei Emelin was on the ice for all three of the Blues first-period goals. ... The Canadiens previous win over St. Louis came on Jan. 4, 2007. Lamar Jackson Youth Jersey . Yet heading to New York, the Habs remain positive as it all comes down to the one main ingredient that the organization has built its team on - character. Mark Andrews Youth Jersey . A top pitching prospect, one who the ball club is pinning some of its future hopes, takes the spot of a veteran who once was viewed as a future ace but who, to this point, hasnt realized his potential and may never. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Ben-Powers-Jersey/ . Anything less than gold for either nation is considered a disappointment. Yet for Switzerland, advancing to the semifinal might be a victory in itself. Lamar Jackson Ravens Jersey .com) - Jimmie Johnson won Sundays AAA Texas 500 while championship contenders Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski as well as their teams were involved in a post-race fight on pit road after the two clashed in the closing laps at Texas Motor Speedway. Jaylon Ferguson Womens Jersey .Y. - The New York Islanders are brimming with confidence these days, thanks to a standout goalie and a newfound winning attitude.WEST ALLIS, Wis. -- Will Power gave Tony Kanaan a friendly tap on the arm when someone asked the fellow IndyCar driver about what it took to succeed at the Milwaukee Mile. "Tell me!" Power joked. No need -- Power did just fine on his own Saturday. The IndyCar series points leader will start at the pole Sunday after being the only driver to surpass 169 mph in qualifying. What a nice way to start the final three weeks of the season for Power, who has a slim lead over Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves in the standings. "Obviously, a win tomorrow would be phenomenal as far as the championship goes," Power said before narrowing his focus. "Just no other way to approach it but just be smart and keep your head down lap by lap. You cant even think about the overall picture." Power topped qualifying Saturday with a lap at 169.262 mph. Castroneves will start eighth. Tony Kanaan qualified second at 168.662 mph for his seventh straight top-10 start. A third Penske driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, will start third. After a week off in the series, the Milwaukee race begins a three-week stretch to end the season. Kanaan led a strong contingent from Chip Ganassi Racing, wwhich will start four drivers in the top 11.dddddddddddd Kanaan won at the Mile in 2006 and 2007. "Weve been showing how quick weve been, how good weve been everywhere. Weve just really got to get a little bit of luck on our side sometime," Kanaan said. "Hopefully tomorrow well challenge Will and some of the guys." Power took his third pole of the season, and the first since qualifying first in June at Texas. The race is promoted by team owner Michael Andretti. The highest-qualifying Andretti Autosport driver was Marco Andretti, who will start ninth. Ryan Hunter-Reay, third in the standings, will start in the second-to-last row in 19th place. Hunter-Reay won at Milwaukee the previous two years. "We just missed the balance entirely today in qualifying -- it wasnt even close," he said. "Unfortunately, we are going to have to pay for it tomorrow." Andretti driver James Hinchcliffe had the top speeds at both practice sessions earlier Saturday, but made contact with the wall late in the second session. Hinchcliffe said the car was fine, but track conditions had changed by the time of his qualifying run. He will start in 13th position. ' ' '