Blues take win from struggling Blackhawks

~ Brewer and Drake scored early goals in a 2-1 win that dealt Chicago its fifth straight loss.

CHICAGO -- Rookie Jason Bacashihua made 21 saves, and Eric Brewer and Dallas Drake scored late in the first period to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.

Kyle Calder scored for the Blackhawks, who lost their fifth straight game and seventh in their last eight.

Calder ended Bacashihua's bid for his first NHL shutout with 4 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third period when he was left alone in front of the Blues' net. After taking a pass from Tyler Arnason, Calder spun and slid in a low shot.

"I'm still looking for it," Bacashihua said. "You get under 5 minutes there, but I'm sure it will come. We've just got to bear down in the last 10 minutes and make sure we make the right plays. But we we're able to hold them off and get another win."

Bacashihua had to make only a handful of tough saves against the struggling Blackhawks, who have scored only 10 goals during the five-game losing streak.

Bacashihua made his sixth straight start and seventh consecutive appearance for the Blues after being recalled from Peoria of the AHL on Dec. 12. He made his NHL debut Dec. 16 in Chicago, replacing Curtis Sanford early in the second period after Sanford was injured.

Nikolai Khabibulin started in goal for the Blackhawks, but left after two periods because of a leg injury.

Khabibulin allowed two goals on 22 shots through two periods. Craig Anderson played the third period, stopping all 10 shots he faced.

Brewer converted a rebound of Scott Young's shot from the slot with 2:16 left in the first period to open the scoring.

Moments earlier, Khabibulin had stopped Brewer on a breakaway, set up when Brewer took a long lead pass directly after leaving the penalty box.

Following the breakaway attempt, Brewer fed a loose puck from behind the net to Doug Weight, who passed to Young. Khabibulin blocked Young's shot, but Brewer was still lingering at the edge of the crease and slipped the puck between Khabibulin's pads.

Drake's power-play goal with 43 seconds left in the period gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead. Drake closed in from the right circle, took a feed from Petr Cajanek and beat Khabibulin high on the stick side.

Bacashihua stopped a close-in chance by Jaroslav Spacek during a Chicago power-play early in the third. A few seconds later, Anton Babchuck's stick broke on a close-in attempt.

The Blues' rookie goalie made a diving glove save on Tyler Arnason's rebound attempt during a Chicago power-play midway through the third.

"He made a couple of key saves tonight," Blues coach Mike Kitchen said. "He had a very strong game. He was very efficient in his net. He had a lot of good, short, direct moves and was able to make the second saves."

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Blues summary

Blues 2, Blackhawks 1

St. Louis 2 0 0 -- 2

Chicago 0 0 1 -- 1

First Period--1, St. Louis, Brewer 6 (Young, Weight), 17:44. 2, St. Louis, Drake 2 (Cajanek, Young), 19:17 (pp). Penalties--Spacek, Chi (high-sticking), 7:20; McAmmond, StL (hooking), 8:32; Keith, Chi (hooking), 9:10; Spacek, Chi (hooking), 10:09; Thornton, Chi, major (fighting), 12:42; Jackman, StL, major (fighting), 12:42; Brewer, StL (tripping), 15:29; Chicago bench, served by Lapointe (too many men), 18:43.

Second Period--None. Penalties--Hilbert, Chi (tripping), 2:15; Spacek, Chi, double minor (hooking, unsportsmanlike conduct), 4:43; St. Louis bench, served by Sejna (too many men), 8:37.

Third Period--3, Chicago, Calder 7 (Arnason, Babchuk), 15:28. Penalties--McAmmond, StL (hooking), 2:30; Cajanek, StL (holding), 10:03; Dowd, Chi (interference), 17:46.

Shots on goal--St. Louis 11-11-10--32. Chicago 7-8-7--22.

Power-play opportunities--St. Louis 1 of 8; Chicago 0 of 4.

Goalies--St. Louis, Bacashihua 3-2-0 (22 shots-21 saves). Chicago, Khabibulin 11-17-3 (22-20), Anderson (19:51 Third, 10-10).

A--15,631 (20,500). T--2:13.

Referees--Steve Kozari, Dan O'Rourke. Linesmen--Andy McElman, Mark Pare.