from Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

The plan was to stay focused and worry about winning – not retribution on Nazem Kadri. But it was Kadri who got the last laugh, in triplicate.

Kadri’s first NHL postseason hat trick put the Colorado Avalanche in firm control of this series with a 6-3 victory over the Blues on Monday at Enterprise Center. As a result, the series heads back to Denver with the Avs up three games to one in the best-of-7 series.

As much as the game may have been a personal vindication for Kadri, who said comments by coach Craig Berube fueled his fire, poor 5-on-5 play and a subpar night by goalie Ville Husso had more to do with the Blues’ undoing.

“We got outskated for most of the game, 5-on-5,” Berube said. “It's pretty simple, I don't know why. We got outskated. They outskated us. Got to every loose puck. Lost a lot of puck battles.”

continued

Game highlights are below.