As the Blues continued to pile up wins with little contribution from their power play, the question became "What if?"

The answer of how much better the Blues are with the unit clicking was underscored again Saturday in a 4-0 win over Colorado, as the team rang up two more power-play goals and had another go in as their man-advantage expired.

Now, with power-play goals in three consecutive games for the first time this season, an offense once deprived of enough scoring has netted four goals in three consecutive games, which not coincidentally is the length of the team's winning streak.

The Blues' ninth victory in their last 10 games at Scottrade Center leapfrogged them into first place in the Central Division with 53 points — the first time the club has held that distinction outright since November 2010 and the first time since 2001 it has been in that position at the halfway point of the season. They are now one point ahead of Detroit and two points in front of Chicago.

Meanwhile, the Blues are in second place in the Western Conference, just two points behind Vancouver. The club will be off until Tuesday, when it travels to Montreal before returning home for five consecutive games at Scottrade Center.

Asked if there would be a party after climbing into first place, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said, "Uh, no (party). Been there, done that. I know what's out there. There's big storms ahead."

T.J. Oshie said he hadn't known about the Blues being atop the division until public address announcer Tom Calhoun made the announcement after the game.

"I didn't even think about it, but it feels good," Blues forward T.J. Oshie said.

Added Blues captain David Backes: "I don't think any of the guys (knew). That only lasts so long in the Western Conference unless you continue to play well and get points every night. That's our goal."

In game No. 41 on Saturday, the Blues knocked off a Colorado club that had won nine of its last 10 games, including a 4-0 victory over the Blackhawks at United Center on Friday.

The Blues outshot Colorado 39-15 in the game, marking the 11th time they outshot their opponent in the last 12 games. The 15 shots against is the fewest the Blues have allowed this season.

If the plan was to jump on the tired visitors early, the Blues executed in the first period, taking a 2-0 lead before Colorado registered its first shot on goal.

Capitalizing on a Colorado turnover in front of the net, Matt D'Agostini dropped a pass for Oshie, whose blistering wrist shot was deflected by Patrik Berglund for his 10th goal of the season and a 1-0 lead just 3:20 into the first period.

Later, the Blues nearly netted their first power-play goal of the game, but the seeing-eye wrist shot by Kevin Shattenkirk, his seventh goal of the season, came as the man-advantage expired.

Ahead 2-0 on two even-strength goals, the Blues would have plenty of other opportunities on the power play on a night when Colorado took six minor penalties.

Early in the second period, with Colorado's Paul Stastny in the penalty box for cross-checking, Jason Arnott netted his ninth goal of the season on the man-advantage, another wrist shot that beat Colorado goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The goal that handed the team a 3-0 lead was assisted by Vladimir Sobotka and Shattenkirk, giving Shattenkirk two points against his former club.

"A little something extra there," Shattenkirk said. "There's obviously a point you want to prove. You really do want to play well and show them that things are going great here in St. Louis and we're happy to be a part of it."

The Blues increased their lead to 4-0 with their second power-play goal of the night, a rebound goal from Backes for his 13th of the year. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo had assists, also giving them two helpers in the game.

At that point, the Blues' power play had netted goals on five of its last 13 attempts. Ranked 30th in the NHL for much of the season, the unit has now scored on nine of its last 26 chances, dating to a 5-3 win over Dallas on Dec. 26. In the seven games since, the team has scored two man-advantage markers four times, after doing so only once in the first 34 games of the season.

"We had it coming, absolutely," Shattenkirk said. "It's been nice to have success on it."

Despite seeing little action at the other end, Brian Elliott snapped a two-game personal losing streak with his fifth shutout.