NHL: Boston 6, St. Louis 3

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Boston rookie Blake Wheeler scored twice for the Bruins, who broke out of a 3-3 tie Sunday and beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3.

Wheeler's goals came in a 2 1/2-minute span of the first period of Boston's fifth straight victory.

Shane Hnidy, Michael Ryder, Marc Savard and Vladimir Sobotka registered the other goals for Boston.

Ryder's goal on a power play with 10:26 remaining in the second period broke the tie and put the Bruins ahead to stay.

Manny Fernandez was the winning goalie, making 29 saves.

Brad Winchester, Jay McClement and Yan Stastny scored for St. Louis, which lost for the sixth time in seven games. Manny Legace yielded five goals on 23 shots and was replaced by Chris Mason, who made five saves in the third period.