DENVER -- Jonathan Drouin scored twice and had an assist during a four-goal first period for the Colorado Avalanche, who defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-0 at Ball Arena on Friday.

Jared Bednar wanted the Avalanche to treat the last five games before the 4 Nations Faceoff like it’s the playoffs. The team got the memo. Colorado stormed out of the gate with four first-period goals on Friday on its way to a 5-0 drubbing of its divisional rival St.

St. Louis allowed four goals in the first period, including two on Colorado power plays, digging themselves a massive hole as they tried to avoid their fourth straight loss.