Blues 2, Wild 1
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Center Jaden Schwartz had a goal and an assist as the St. Louis Blues earned their fifth win in six games, beating the reeling Minnesota Wild 2-1 Tuesday.
Center T.J. Oshie also scored for the Blues (27-7-5), who have not lost a regulation game in three weeks. St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott improved to 10-1-2 and just missed his third shutout of the season.
Minnesota (20-17-5) lost its sixth game in a row, a franchise record.
The Wild got a goal from defenseman Ryan Suter with 8.3 seconds left in the game but could not generate much offense, prompting boos from the home fans on more than one occasion. Minnesota got 21 saves from goalie Josh Harding,
After a scoreless first period, Oshie netted his second goal in as many games. Schwartz forced Wild center Mikael Granlund to cough up the puck in front of the Minnesota net, then flipped a pass to Oshie, who skated in alone on Harding, scoring on a deft stickhandling move at 6:49.
At 15:59 of the second period, Schwartz capped off a 4-on-2 rush into the Wild zone with a low shot that Harding slowed with a pad save but could not stop from trickling over the goal line. Schwartz missed two games in mid-December with an upper-body injury, but he has goals in six consecutive games since returning to the lineup.
Suter scored his second goal of the season, blasting a shot through a crowd in front of Elliott with the Wild's goalie pulled.
The Wild, who last won a game on Dec. 17, are playing without star left wing Zach Parise, who is on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury in a loss at St. Louis on Nov. 25.
The Blues are 13-0-1 against Central Division rivals this season.
NOTES: Blues RW Chris Stewart left the game in the first period after being struck in the face by a shot from Wild RW Jason Pominville. Stewart was helped to the locker room, and a notable blood stain was scraped off the ice where he fell. He did not return and was officially listed as out due to an upper-body injury. ... St. Louis RW David Backes was scratched for the second consecutive game. He is dealing with an upper-body injury he suffered in the Blues' 6-5 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. ... Wild rookie D Matt Dumba is currently on loan to Hockey Canada, where he is an alternate captain for his home country in the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships, being played in Sweden. The Canadians defeated Team USA 3-2 on Tuesday. ... The Blues play to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. The Wild also begin 2014 at home, when the Buffalo Sabres visit Minnesota on Thursday.
