Blues win exhibition, catch some sights

Sweden has plenty of modern travel conveniences, but the St. Louis Blues chose to travel two hours by train to their exhibition game Tuesday against Linkoping.

The Blues boarded a pair of private train cars and took the two-hour train ride from downtown Stockholm to Linkoping. They played the local Swedish Elite League team, Linkoping HC.

"The best part of the trip is seeing a new place and a different culture," Blues goalie Chris Mason told team massage therapist Jeff Wright, who is helping chronicle the team's journey for the News-Democrat. "We travel to the same cities year after year and don't have the time to enjoy them. It's nice here to have that opportunity."

Paul Kariya scored two goals and Alex Steen, David Perron, Carlo Colaiacovo and Patrik Berglund added goals as the Blues dismantled Linkoping HC 6-0.

Blues goalies Mason, Ty Conklin and Ben Bishop each played a period and combined on the shutout.

The win lifted the Blues' preseason record to 5-1-1 as they prepare for the season opener against Detroit at 2 p.m. CDT Friday the Ericsson Globe Arena in downtown Stockholm.

The teams meet again at 2 p.m. CDT Saturday before returning to the United States.

Again using what amounts to their regular-season lineup, the Blues have outscored their last three preseason opponents by a combined 15-1.

They have seven power-play goals in those three games while killing off 14 of 15 penalties.

Scavenging in Stockholm

The Blues staged an elaborate scavenger hunt Monday in Stockholm that required a lot of building, thinking, traveling and eating.

"They had to run to catch buses, catch trains, catch taxis," Blues coach Andy Murray told NHL.com. "They saw the whole city, the palace, the city hall, and it kept them awake. We ended up at a restaurant and had dinner together."

The teams were required to build a cabinet at the team hotel and from there it was over to the castle to get a picture with a King's Guard.

According to winger Brad Winchester, the next step was a trip by ferry to the local zoo to get a picture taken with a live moose.

The Blues weren't taking it easy on their center from Sweden, Patrik Berglund.

"Bergie's team finished last and he's Swedish," Blues winger Andy McDonald said.

For the final stop, players had to visit a local food hall and try three Swedish delicacies -- a salmon dish, a shrimp dish and pickled herring.

"Some guys were surprised they liked the herring, others said it was awful," Wright said.