SLIP SLIDIN' AWAY

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 4:32 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.

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.

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