Struggling St. Louis ran into hot team

ATLANTA -- The St. Louis Blues' scoring slump continued Friday night, and they were left raving about Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Kari Lehtonen.

Lehtonen posted his first shutout of the season and the second of his career by making a career-best 37 saves in the Thrashers' 2-0 victory.

"He stole the show," said St. Louis goalie Curtis Sanford, who made 22 saves.

"He played terrific," Blues coach Mike Kitchen added. "We had all kinds of chances in the second and third."

St. Louis outshot Atlanta 19-6 in the second period and fired another 12 shots in the third period.

"In the second period, they started to shoot a lot," Lehtonen said. "It started to build my confidence and it kind of helped me in the third period, just to keep going and relaxing."

Atlanta won its fourth straight game, and Lehtonen has a 2.45 goals against average in that span. He improved to 5-2 after missing much of the season with a groin injury suffered in Atlanta's opener.

The Blues lost their fifth in a row and have managed a total of two goals in the last four defeats.

"We're just not being able to find the back of the net," Kitchen said. "That's what happens when you're pushing and you're pressing. ... We need to get a break along the line here."