Mailloux scores 1st goal with Blues in win against Blackhawks

ST. LOUIS -- Logan Mailloux scored his first goal with the St. Louis Blues, who held on for a 3-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Enterprise Center on Friday.

The defenseman, who was acquired by the Blues in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on July 1, had one assist in 19 games entering Friday.

“It felt good to get the monkey off the back,” Mailloux said.

Chicago center Connor Bedard was injured while taking a face-off against St. Louis center Brayden Schenn with one second remaining in the game. Schenn went in for a stick lift and knocked into Bedard, who fell backward to the ice at the final horn. He was clutching his right shoulder as he skated off and went down the tunnel.

Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said Bedard will not play against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and that a further update is expected Monday.

“I think it’s a freak accident to be honest with you,” Blashill said.

Bedard had two assists Friday and leads Chicago with 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists) in 31 games this season.

Matt Luff also scored his first goal with the Blues, and Robert Thomas had two assists for St. Louis (12-14-7), which had lost two straight, including 7-2 at the Nashville Predators on Thursday. Joel Hofer made 27 saves.

“Right from the drop of the puck, you could feel it. The crowd was into it because our guys were there for each other, rallying for each other,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “We were connected. We still made mistakes, and that’s going to happen in this game because there’s another team playing, but the effort and the second and third effort, playing for each other makes up for a lot.”

Andre Burakovsky had a goal and an assist for Chicago (13-12-6), which has lost three of four. Spencer Knight made 23 saves.

“They played way harder than us, early on especially,” Blashill said. “They came out super ready, and we came out to just play hockey. Too many guys weren’t as competitive as you need to be. It was physical early, and we needed to come out with way more mental focus.”

Mailloux made it 1-0 at 3:41 of the first period during a delayed penalty. Thomas feathered a pass across the ice for Mailloux, who then stepped into the left face-off circle and beat Knight with a wrist shot through the legs of Blackhawks defenseman Louis Crevier that went in on the far side.

“It was a heck of a play, kind of an area pass by ‘Tommer,’” Mailloux said. “They had a delayed penalty there. I was coming off the bench and I saw it and jumped up, and it was a great screen by [Jake Neighbours] in front too.”

Luff, playing his third game with St. Louis since signing as a free agent July 1, pushed the lead to 2-0 at 11:48, taking a pass down the slot from Robby Fabbri and scoring to the glove side. It was his first goal since April 4, 2023, when he scored for the Detroit Red Wings against the Canadiens.

“It was a good pass by ‘Fabs,’” Luff said. “Always nice to get it done and nice to get a win too.”

Wyatt Kaiser cut the deficit to 2-1 at 15:50. He took a pass from Burakovsky, skated to the high slot and beat Hofer high to the left side.

Justin Faulk restored the two-goal lead, making it 3-1 at 8:57 of the second period. After receiving a pass from Tyler Tucker at the bottom of the right circle, he moved in and stuffed a shot under Knight’s arm at the near post.

Burakovsky pulled Chicago within 3-2 at 14:08 of the third period. After Bedard deflected Colton Parayko's poke of the puck deep in the St. Louis zone, it squirted across the top of the crease to the right post, where Burakovsky scored with a backhand.

NOTES: Bedard had his 40th career multipoint game, passing Patrick Kane for the fourth most by a Blackhawks player age 20 or younger, behind Denis Savard (44), Jeremy Roenick (41) and Eddie Olczyk (41). … Burakovsky’s goal was his first in 11 games. … Thomas has six points (three goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak. … Fabbri has an assist in each of his two games since rejoining the Blues by signing a one-year, two-way contract on Wednesday. A first-round pick (No. 21) by St. Louis in the 2014 NHL Draft, the forward played 164 games for the Blues from 2015-2020.