DENVER (AP) — Jake Allen has been mostly a spectator during St. Louis’ winning streak. He joined the party Saturday.Allen made 32 saves in just his second start in a month [url=www.floridapanthersteamshops.com]Adidas Mike Hoffman Jersey[/url] , Vladimir Tarasenko and Zach Sanford scored 57 seconds apart in the third period and the Blues beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 on Saturday for their ninth straight victory.The winning streak is the Blues’ longest since also winning nine in a row from Oct. 15-Nov. 5, 2002.“We’re confident but the team really understands the work that has to be put in game to game,” St. Louis interim coach Craig Berube said.Allen was the No. 1 goaltender for the Blues earlier this season, but has been supplanted by rookie Jordan Binnington. Binnington is 11-1-1 in 13 games and has won his last seven starts, pushing Allen to a backup role.“I’ve been so happy for the guys, so happy for Binner the way he’s been playing,” Allen said. “He’s been the best goalie in the league for the last month. He deserves to play.”The 28-year-old veteran has relied on experience to adjust to his new status.“I’ve been through the same scenario many times, it’s nothing new to me [url=www.kingsproshop.com]Adidas Jonny Brodzinski Jersey[/url] ,” said Allen, who is 3-0 against the Avalanche this season. “I treat my practices like my game and come in here and go out there and have some fun.”Allen has two shutouts this season and 18 overall. St. Louis hasn’t allowed a goal in 127 minutes, 14 seconds.Colorado ended an eight-game losing streak Thursday night in Winnipeg but couldn’t build on that win. The Avalanche have lost six in a row at home.“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves, we just have to keep pounding ahead,” Colorado forward Mikko Rantanen said. “There’s a lot of games left. This was a really important game and it sucks to lose. We can’t get stuck in the mud, we have to forget and move on.”The Blues outshot Colorado 25-19 through the first two periods, but couldn’t get one past Semyon Varlamov until Tarasenko broke through with his 25th goal at 4:01 of the third.“Couple mistakes, one in the (offensive) zone and the other in the (defensive) zone [url=www.kingsproshop.com]Adidas Peter Budaj Jersey[/url] ,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “Giving up an odd-man rush was the difference in the hockey game.”After Colorado nearly scored at the other end, Sanford scored on an ensuing odd-man rush, tipping Oskar Sundqvist’s pass past Varlamov at 4:58 for his seventh of the season. Tarasenko also assisted on the goal.Allen then stopped Rantanen on a break and denied Carl Soderberg at the doorstep to keep the Avalanche off the board and contribute to the winning streak.“Whenever I get in there, like everyone else, you’ve got big shoes to fill,” Allen said. “Right now we’re rolling in the right direction and we’re not done yet.”Allen’s teammates praise the goaltender’s attitude and work ethic while Binnington has taken over as the No. 1 goaltender.“It’s not been easy,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “He didn’t play for a while, against Nashville comes in and makes almost 50 saves [url=www.minnesotawildteamshops.com]Adidas Matt Read Jersey[/url] , and then tonight. Nothing but a pro.”Varlamov came off for an extra skater with 2:20 left, and Jaden Schwartz scored into an empty net at 18:24.NOTES: St. Louis LW Alexander Steen was away from the team to be with his wife for the birth of the couple’s child. Robby Fabbri played in his place after being a healthy scratch for 10 straight games. … Pietrangelo left briefly in the first period after taking a shot off his knee. He said he lost feeling in his foot but was fine when it returned a few minutes later. … Colorado is 0 for 23 on the power play over its last eight games.UP NEXT:St. Louis: At Minnesota on Sunday.Colorado: Hosts Vegas on Monday night. After going 0-2-2 in the four games following a 10-game winning streak, the Buffalo Sabres have had a chance to take a break from games the past three days It also meant they could get in a couple practices, which were limited during their recent cramped schedule.In their first-game since an overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, which followed a loss to the Predators in Nashville the night before, the Sabres will play host to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon.Article continues below ...The Tuesday game marked the completion of a stretch of 11 games in 19 days for Buffalo.“A lot of times you lose practice time and we understand that,” Sabres left winger Conor Sheary told the Buffalo News Friday after the Sabres completed their first back-to-back practice days since mid-November. “So, when you get these kind of days here [url=www.minnesotawildteamshops.com]Adidas Matt Hendricks Jersey[/url] , you want to take advantage of them, really work on your special teams and your five-on-five play and get better at them. It’s definitely good for us.”“It’s been refreshing,” Buffalo defenseman Zach Bogosian said. “It’s good to see a little slowdown of pace in the schedule. It doesn’t mean the games are going to be any less intense but it’s nice to get a few days between games and throw a day off in there too.”The Sabres defeated the Flyers 5-2 Nov. 21 at home.Buffalo (17-8-4) will be without goaltender Carter Hutton for the game Saturday. He is out with an upper-body injury.The injury apparently came during the 2-1 loss in Nashville.Scott Wedgewood has been called up from Rochester of the American Hockey League to serve as Linus Ullmark’s backup on Saturday.“We’re just being cautious with it, giving him a maintenance day yesterday,” Housley said. “He’s still day to day and he hasn’t really skated. We want to get him a practice or some ice before (he returns to the lineup).” The Flyers will be starting a five-game road trip in Buffalo.They recalled forward Phil Varone from Lehigh Valley of the AHL for the opener of the trip. He is leading the Phantoms with 17 assists and has 11 goals in 22 games. The 28 points rank him second in the AHL. Varone has scored seven goals and added five assists in his past nine games.The Flyers (11-12-3) are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center after Travis Sanheim scored twice in the third period for Philadelphia to tie the game. The Flyers are 2-5-2 in their past nine games.“It’s disappointing the way it ended,” Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol said. “That’s a hard way to lose the extra point.”The Flyers hope to change their fortunes on their trip. They are 6-5-1 on the road this season, compared to 5-7-2 at home.“What the exact science is, I don’t know [url=www.minnesotawildteamshops.com]Adidas Eric Fehr Jersey[/url] ,” Hakstol said. “But for the most part, everybody’s rink is pretty similar. And for a team on the road your live is pretty simplified. It’s about your teammates and hockey.”“It’s nice to play on the road,” Flyers center Scott Laughton said. “You just play hockey. You don’t have any other worries. It’s good for team building, too. It brings you closer. Lots of dinners and stuff like that. Lots of hanging out.”The Flyers are hoping that the upcoming trip works out as well as a similar one did last December. It turned their season around and they had the fifth-best record in the NHL from that point and made the playoffs.“You ask any team, they love getting out on the road together,” Hakstol said. “It simplifies life a little bit. It’s always a good chance for the team to be around each other, to hang out and you always get a little bit tighter when you go through some of the challenges on the road. It’s about your teammates and hockey.”