Final Score: Chicago 2, St. Louis 1

St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp scored first-period goals, and the Chicago Blackhawks held on to take a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.

Antti Niemi made 34 saves for the Blackhawks, who snapped a three-game slide that included Wednesday's setback to St. Louis at home.

"It's a fun line to play on, that's for sure," Sharp said of playing with Toews and Patrick Kane. "I think all three of us would say we like playing with each other. I think we played strong, and I think we played well in our (defensive) zone, and it led to some chances."

Alexander Steen scored on a 5-on-3 advantage in the final two minutes for the Blues, who lost their second in a row. Chris Mason let in both goals on 30 shots.

"(Scoring) can be tough -- it's like not being able to get a clutch hit; it's like not being able to punch it in in the red zone," said Blues head coach Davis Payne. "It's the part of the game that you need to execute in order to win."

Sharp got Chicago on the board 5:33 into the first period, after Toews picked up a loose puck to the left of the net. He spun around and centered a pass to the crease for Sharp, who quickly shoved the puck past Mason.

Toews then netted his 19th of the year at 15:51, and Niemi was superb between the pipes in upholding the lead. He made 25 saves in the first two periods and looked to be in line for his fifth shutout, but St. Louis got a two-man advantage late in the contest thanks to penalties on Blackhawks defensemen Brian Campbell and Brent Sopel only 36 seconds apart.

Steen's blast from the high slot beat Niemi with 1:46 on the clock, but the Blackhawks held off the Blues for the win.

Game Notes

Chicago is 31-6-3 this year when scoring first... Since winning four in a row in mid-January, St. Louis is 4-5-2 in its last 11 games.