Blues' losing streak reaches 10 games

ST. LOUIS -- Jim Vandermeer scored two goals, one tapped in by a hapless opponent, to help the Chicago Blackhawks run the St. Louis Blues' franchise-record losing streak to 10 with a 4-2 victory on Thursday night.

Mark Bell also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won two straight for the first time in 41 games. They're near the bottom of the NHL with 12 points, five more than the league-worst Blues, including an overtime victory in St. Louis on Nov. 2.

The losing streak for the Blues, who were stripped down before the season to help team owners sell the franchise, is two games longer than the previous worst. Their 2-11-3 start is their worst since 1977-78 when they were 2-10-2. They've been outscored 46-25 since their last victory on Oct. 19 and were unsuccessful on three 5-on-3 power plays, one negated by Scott Young's holding penalty 11 seconds later.

Vandermeer's fourth goal of the season, a shot from the point through traffic midway through the second period, put the Blackhawks ahead to stay at 3-2. He got credit for an unassisted goal midway through the first when Mark Rycroft accidentally tapped the puck past surprised goalie Patrick Lalime while trying to skate it out of trouble.

Rycroft scored one for the Blues, too, and Doug Weight also scored on a deflection that ended a 2-for-26 power-play slump.

Rycroft's rebound shot at 3:07 of the first period gave the Blues the game's first goal for the first time in five games, after they had trailed 2-0 in each of the last four. But Bell tied it 11 seconds later with a wrist shot on a power play. Chicago then took the lead on Rycroft's gaffe at 10:45.

Notes: The Blackhawks have won two straight for the first time since Feb. 14, 2004, when they beat the Bruins for their third consecutive victory. They finished 2003-04 with four victories in the last 25 games. ... Chicago's Mark Cullen, recalled from Norfolk of the AHL on Tuesday, scored his first career goal in the third period for a 4-2 lead. The goal chased Lalime, who made 26 saves. ... The Blackhawks are 4-0 when scoring four or more goals.