Blackhawks come alive in second period to sink Blues

The AssociatedPress

ST. LOUIS -- Jocelyn Thibault made 31 saves, and Steve Sullivan scored the go-ahead goal in a three-goal second period of the Chicago Blackhawks' 3-2 victory over the Blues on Saturday night.

Travis Moen had his first career goal, and Nathan Dempsey also scored in the second for the Blackhawks, who totaled three goals in the previous three games. Chicago is 4-1-2 in its last seven games.

Eric Nickalus scored his first goal, and Dallas Drake added a short-handed tally for the Blues, whose three-game winning streak ended. St. Louis was missing two-thirds of its top line, with leading scorer Pavol Demitra sidelined by illness, and Scott Mellanby out with a concussion.

The Blackhawks won despite only 19 shots. Thibault made 12 saves in the second period and 13 in the third.

Drake stole the puck from Alexander Karpovtsev in the Chicago zone on the penalty kill and scored his first goal of the season to cut the gap to 3-2 at 8:45 of the third. Drake tied the franchise record with five assists against the Red Wings on Wednesday.

Nickulas, playing in only his third game of the season, put the Blues ahead on a rush at 8:07 of the first.

Dempsey tied it at 4:09 of the second with a shot that deflected off the skate of Blues defenseman Christian Backman. Two penalties to the Blues in a span of 19 seconds led to Sullivan's go-ahead, power-play goal at 9:50 of the second.

Moen got his first from the left side of the net at 18:05 of the period, beating Chris Osgood for a two-goal lead.

The Blues are 0-2-2 in their last four games against the Blackhawks. This was the first of six meetings between the teams.

Notes: The Blackhawks have lost only once in 75 games when taking the lead into the third period, going 59-1-14-1. ... Blues C Petr Cajanek missed his third straight game with bruised ribs. ... This was the first game of a four-game homestand for the Blues, who are 2-1 in St. Louis.