Blues 4, Panthers 2
Chris Porter scored with 1:54 remaining in the third period and Martin Brodeur made 32 saves in his home debut as St. Louis moved into sole possession of first place in the Central Division.
Porter extended his stick to deftly deflect defenseman Barret Jackman's shot from the point, sending the puck caroming wildly off the ice and over the right shoulder of Roberto Luongo (24 saves) to give the Blues a 3-2 lead. The tally was Porter's first since April 7, 2013, and Paul Stastny added an empty-net goal to essentially seal Brodeur's 690th career win.
Fourth-liner Maxim Lapierre and defenseman Ian Cole each scored in the first period for St. Louis, which has outscored Florida by a 21-4 margin during a five-game winning streak between the teams. All was not rosy for the Blues, who saw captain David Backes hit in the mouth by teammate T.J. Oshie's slap shot during the first period.
Nick Bjugstad scored his fourth goal in three contests and rookie defenseman Aaron Ekblad also tallied to extend his point streak to five games for the Panthers, who have dropped three of their last five. Tomas Fleischmann notched an assist to increase his point streak to three games.
Lapierre skated out from behind the net and whipped a sharp-angle shot that caromed off the skate of Florida's Vincent Trocheck and past Luongo to open the scoring 11:17 into the first period. Jori Lehtera fed Cole for a one-timer in the slot over six minutes later, but Bjugstad netted his team-leading 12th goal with 4:39 remaining in the second and Ekblad tallied from deep in the right circle with 5:06 left in the third.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Backes returned briefly midway through the second period while sporting a cage on his helmet before returning to the locker room in the third. ... The crowd at Scottrade Center gave Brodeur a standing ovation prior to the contest. Brodeur signed with the Blues on Tuesday and split a pair of road appearances. ... Florida C Dave Bolland logged 15:45 of ice time in his return after being sidelined since Oct. 17 with a groin injury. ... Bjugstad's goal was the Panthers' first against the Blues in 202:14. Mike Santorelli, who currently plays for Toronto, had Florida's previous tally on Nov. 17, 2011.