ST. LOUIS _ The Blues offense did what it has done a lot of lately, creating chances but not putting them in the net, but the defense picked up the slack, holding Tampa Bay to just one goal in a 3-1 win for the Blues on Tuesday at Enterprise Center to snap a three-game losing streak.
Only an empty-net goal by Jaden Schwartz with 4.4 seconds to play kept it from being the fourth straight game in which the Blues scored two goals or fewer.
Oskar Sundqvist put the Blues ahead 6:16 into the third period on a beautiful no-look backhand pass from Robert Thomas, who showed what he can do as a center. Sundqvist had slipped, and got up just in time to drive home the puck from the right dot.
The Blues controlled much of the final two periods, outshooting Tampa Bay about 3 to 1 after the first period.
It was a physical game, with lots of hitting, some post-whistle scrums and a second-period hit by Brayden Schenn that knocked Nikita Kucherov out of the game.
David Perron put in a rebound in front of the net, ending a long run for the Blues without a goal and getting them even at 1-1 in the second.
Perron was in front of the crease when a puck shot by Colton Parayko and stopped by Andrei Vasilevskiy came to him. He got the puck, stickhandled to his right and got it past Vasilevskiy's pad for his ninth goal of the season.
The Blues had gone 74 minutes, 10 seconds without a goal since Vince Dunn scored against Anaheim, and it had been 131:54 since the last goal by a forward, by Brayden Schenn against Columbus.
Perron's goal came on Sammy Blais' first shift back on the ice after being checked into the boards by Erik Cernak and heading to the room for treatment.
The Blues could have had more, outshooting Tampa Bay 18-4 in the period, though the closest anyone came was two short-handed chances for Tampa in the period, with Jordan Binnington making two strong saves.
Later in the period, Cernak was assessed a double-minor for roughing when he went after Schenn laid out Nikita Kucherov. Schenn got two for roughing, but the Blues couldn't do anything with the man advantage.
Anthony Cirelli scored for Tampa with 3:24 to go in the first. Alex Killorn got the puck out of the corner, passed in front to Cirelli, who put it between Jordan Binnington's pads from close range and into the net. Vince Dunn was nearby, but had his back to the play.
Pat Maroon almost scored early in the game, jumping on a rebound in front of the Blues net but Binnington, Mackenzie MacEachern and Dunn converged on him to keep the puck out.
It was a fairly wide open period, which may not have been ultimately something the Blues want against the fast-skating Lightning.
The Blues did kill a power play by Tampa Bay's difficult unit, ranked second in the league, and did it well, keeping the Lightning from having a shot on goal.
Right before the opening faceoff, the Blues presented Maroon with his Stanley Cup ring. To a roaring cheer from the Enterprise Center crowd and stick taps from his former teammates, Maroon skated over the Olympia tunnel, where he was met by Blues captains Alex Pietrangelo, Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen, the last two in street clothes since they're injured, and general manager Doug Armstrong, with big hugs for everyone. Armstrong presented him with his ring. Maroon put it on and marveled at it, before hugging everyone one more time before taking his place for the opening faceoff.
